


Let The Loneliness Go

by immortalpramheda



Category: Frozen (2013), Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-02 10:36:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 24,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11507637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/immortalpramheda/pseuds/immortalpramheda
Summary: Elsa and Anna are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their cousin, Rapunzel, and her husband, Eugene. Once they arrive, Elsa feels left out. Anna has Kristoff. Rapunzel has Eugene. Olaf and Pascal have become friends. She has no one. Maybe it's time for her to let someone in...





	1. Chapter 1

"Anna, tomorrow we have some guests coming,” Elsa announced, while the two sisters were drying off the dishes that had just been washed.

Anna gasped. She was in the middle of drying a plate, and as she excitedly turned to Elsa, the plate flew out of her hand, flying up, and then straight towards the ground.

Elsa choked on a scream, as Anna's shocked face followed the falling plate.

Elsa thought quick, and used her magical powers to shoot ice out of her hands, straight towards the plate.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Anna's still shocked face was following the path it was falling. Elsa was concentrating hard, making sure she had produced enough ice.

The plate was slowly, slowly, falling towards the ground. It was almost there... and then,

SMASH!!!!

A million shards of ice shot out in every direction. The light reflecting of them, sparkling, like stars in the night sky.

The ice had cushioned the fall, and the antique, porcelain salad plate was still in one piece.

Anna carefully walked over and picked it up. The shards of ice melted as she stepped on them. She examined the plate.

"Good save, Elsa. It's still intact." She looked up at her sister. "And on the plus side, the ice gave it another wash, which makes it extra clean, which is a bonus!!" She twirled around and placed the plate delicately on the counter.

"Anna." Elsa looked furious. "You need to be careful around these things. I've told you."

"I know, but.." Anna started to say. The ice was melting, leaving puddles of water covering the floor. Anna pulled up her dress to stop it getting wet.

"Look what you did?" Elsa gestured to the puddles. "You've made a mess. I want you to get a mop and clean all this up." Anna sagged her shoulders. "And I also want you to put the rest of the dishes away, and make sure the entire kitchen is completely spotless."

Anna sighed. "But, but can't we just get one of the maids to do it?" She pleaded.

"No. You are the one who caused this, and I expect you to be the one to fix it." Elsa said matter of factly.

"Look, I'm sorry, isn't that enou..?"

Elsa put her hands up and sighed. "Anna, please, just do it."

"I..." Anna started to say. She didn't like it when her sister treated her like this. It was so unfair. She's her sister, not her mother.

Elsa took a deep breath. "I'm the Queen, and I have the final say in what happens." She sophisticatedly turned around. "I will tell you about our guests when you are done. "

Anna slapped her forehead. "Right. Guests! That's what started this whole thing. The guests!" Anna ran after Elsa, but slipped on a puddle and fell to the ground.

Elsa heard the thump from the next room over. "You better hurry up if you want me to tell you about them,” she teasingly said.

Anna jumped up extremely fast and grabbed a mop from the utility closet. She tied her hair back, and got into cleaning mode.

15 minutes later, Anna had mopped the entire kitchen floor. Not a drop of water in sight; completely dry. All of the dishes were put away. No trace of the incident that had occurred.

Anna had worked hard, and fast, to make sure the kitchen was spotless. She wanted to know about the guests. She loved nothing more than meeting new people.

Anna was puffed; her cheeks were flushed. Several pieces of hair had fallen out of her bun and hung down her face, making her freckles stand out.

She skipped across the kitchen, and then slid along the tiles through the doorway into the living room. Elsa was sitting on a chair, reading a book. She looked up as Anna slid into the room.

Anna tried to catch her breath. "Done." she managed to get out, in between short fast breaths.

Elsa closed her book, and stood up, placing her book on the armrest. She walked over and looked into the kitchen. She examined it, taking her time. Anna was shaking with anticipation.

“That’s acceptable,” she said gracefully, and turned around to face Anna.

Anna was ecstatic. She jumped up and down. “Tellmeaboutheguests!!” She talked fast as she twirled around. “Tellmeabouthteguests TELLMEABOUTTHEGUESTS!!” she yelled.

Elsa gestured for her to be quiet. “Anna, calm down.” she said sternly.

Anna stopped jumping, and stood up straight. She smoothed down her dress, and tucked her lose strands of hair behind her ears. “Okay, sorry Elsa. I’m just so excited!!” she gave a little scream and jumped up.

“It’s just, when was the last time we had guests come?” she looked up at the ceiling, thinking. “Umm, it’s been a while. I can’t exactly remember when, but it’s been aaaages!” She threw arms up in the air, exaggerating how long it’s been, and then dropped her shoulders.

Elsa was just silently standing there, waiting for her sisters rant to be over. As much as she found her constant rambling annoying, she knew it was just Anna’s personality and she wouldn’t wish for her to change it for anything.

“I love it when we have guests. I guess I just love people. I just love meeting new people, and talking to them, and becoming friends with them. And yeah, I’m so excited for you to tell me who our guests are. And I know it’s gonna be amazing, and I can decorate the house for their arrival.” Anna twirled around again. “Oh, and I can cook a delicious meal for us to eat, and maybe, Elsa, you could create an ice rink like last time. Remember last ti…” Anna stopped talking when she saw the expression on Elsa’s face. “Sorry Elsa.”

Elsa wasn’t angry. She was slightly annoyed, but she was grinning. She loved her sisters quirkiness. “Okay, Anna, now that you’ve cleaned the kitchen, and finished your over exaggerated ramble, come into the living room and I’ll tell you about our guests.”

Anna gave a little squeak when she heard the word ‘guests’. She tried to hide it, which made Elsa silently giggle. The two sisters walked into the living room. Elsa sat on the armchair she was sitting in before, and Anna sat on the couch across from her.

Elsa began. “Our mother’s sister is the Queen of Corona. We visited their Kingdom when I was about five years old, but you were probably too young to remember.” Anna was eagerly listening, nodding her head and absorbing every word that her sister was saying. “We met the King and Queen, but their daughter was missing. The lost Princess.”

Anna interrupted. “Oh, I remember hearing about the lost Princess. But they found her, right!?! And she’s our cousin??” She tried hard to contain her excitement.

Elsa smiled. “Yes. They found their daughter. Rapunzel, our cousin.” Anna jumped up.

“Rapunzel is coming?!? That’s who’s coming!” Anna threw her hands up in the air. Then sat back down. She realised she was being immature. She sat leaning towards Elsa, eagerly waiting to hear about her cousin.

“Yes,” Elsa continued. “Rapunzel and her husband, Eugene, are coming to stay with us for a couple of days.” Anna squeaked, which made Elsa smirk. “They are going on a holiday, and would like to come visit us.” Anna was on the edge of her seat, shaking with excitement. Elsa expected her to interrupt, but she was acting surprisingly calm. “They actually came to my Coronation, but we didn’t get to formally meet because of what happened…” Elsa trailed off.

They didn’t really like to talk about what happened. When Elsa’s powers were revealed and she put Arendelle into an eternal Winter. But the event did bring them closer. Because of Elsa’s secret, she felt the need to keep her distance from everyone, even her sister. Now that she didn’t have to hide her powers, they were as close as any two sisters could possibly be. She didn’t feel the need to isolate herself from the world anymore.

Plus, they wouldn’t have Olaf if it had never happened. And Anna would never have met Kristoff. Besides, Elsa stopped the eternal Winter and Summer was now back. So what happened wasn’t all bad.

“Anyway, this will be the first time we formally meet them.” Elsa smiled at her sister. It made her so happy to see her like this.

“So they’re staying here?” Anna asked, sliding even further off the couch.

“Yes, for two nights.”

Anna stood up, “They’ll stay in one of the guest rooms, right? Could I get it ready for them? I could make the bed; put the sheets and everything on it. Corona is summery, like Arendelle, right? So I could put a floral quilt cover on the bed. Oh, but Eugene might not like that. Because he’s a boy, and boys don’t usually like girly things. But I’m sure Rapunzel would like it.” Anna looked down. “Oh, this is hard. Figuring out how to decorate one room for two different people.” She giggled. “Umm, I could put flowers and decorations up in the room too. Make it feel special for them. Because this is a special moment. Meeting our cousin for the first time and everything.” Anna kept talking.

“Anna, they’re coming tomorrow morning. You can get the guest room ready for them if you would like.” Anna was still talking to herself, and didn’t hear Elsa.

Anna eventually noticed that Elsa had said something. “Wait, what?”

Elsa stood up. “They arrive tomorrow morning. And yes, you can get the guest room ready for them.”

Anna beamed at Elsa, and ran over and hugged her. “Thank you Elsa. I love you.”

“I love you too Anna.” The sisters smiled at each other.

“Umm, so okay, I’ll go get the guest room ready.” Anna said as she skipped away. Elsa shook her head at her. Her crazy sister had so much energy and such a big heart.

Just then, Olaf walked into the room. His personal flurry above him, keeping him frozen. If he didn’t have it, he would melt. But he didn’t understand that. He longs to sun bake at the beach. Little does he know, that’s no place for a snowman.

Anna crouched down, and hugged him. “Oh Olaf, guess what?”

“What?” Olaf said in his sing-song voice.

“We have guests coming tomorrow!!”

Olaf did a little dance. Jumping from one stubby snow leg to the other. “Ooooh guests!! I love guests!! Who is it? Who is it, Anna??” He looked up at her with his adorably innocent eyes.

“Our cousin, Rapunzel, and her husband, Eugene!!” Anna grabbed Olaf’s stick arms, and danced with him. They were singing ‘la la la’ together, both clearly excited for the guests.

Elsa stood back with her arms crossed, watching them. What a strange sight to see. Her sister and the snowman they built when they were kids dancing and singing together. She couldn’t help but smile. She loved her family.

“Olaf,” Elsa said. The unusual dancing partners stopped dancing and looked over at her.

“Yes, Elsa.” How could you not fall in love with Olaf’s sweet voice?

“Rapunzel also has a little friend, Pascal, that I think you’ll get along with.”

“Oooooh!” Olaf stood up as tall as he could. “A snowman like me?” He pointed his stick arms at himself.

“No,” Elsa said sadly. Unfortunately, there’s not likely to be another live snowman like Olaf. “He’s a bit smaller than you, but I think you’ll get along. You’ll meet him tomorrow.”

“Well, I can’t wait!” Olaf jumped up, splattering snow all over Anna. She stood up and shook it off.; shaking her head to get rid of it all. “Sorry Anna, I’m just so excited!” He jumped again, once again covering her in snow.

Olaf walked off. “Pascal and Olaf. Olaf and Pascal. Friends FOREVER!!!” he said, jumping and throwing his hands up, like he’s the star of a Broadway show.

Anna smirked at Elsa as she shook the snow off herself, and she smirked back. “Well, I’ll go get the guest room ready.” she said as she ran up the stairs.

Elsa sat back down on the chair. She could hear Anna banging around upstairs doing who knows what. And the faint sound of Olaf chanting, “Olaf and Pascal. Pascal and Olaf.” Elsa sat there thinking. She was looking forward to the guests coming, but she was the Queen. She couldn’t act immature like them. She had to stay poised and elegant. But there was no denying that she was excited.

As the night came to an end, the Kingdom of Arendelle was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Princess Rapunzel and Prince Eugene. Oh, and Pascal.


	2. Chapter 2

Elsa awoke the next morning to the sun shining in though the window. She got up and opened the blinds and smiled. It was a beautiful day.

She grabbed her dressing gown and walked out to Anna’s room. She quietly opened it.

But Anna wasn’t in there. Her bed was perfectly made. Anna never makes her bed. She always leaves her bed a mess when she gets up. It was like she hadn’t even slept there last night.

Elsa frowned. She walked along to the guest room. The door was slightly ajar. She pushed it open.

Anna was sprawled over the guest bed, fast asleep. She was wearing the same clothes that she wore yesterday.

Elsa grinned. The room was beautiful. The bed had a gorgeous floral print quilt cover, but not too girly as Anna was worried it would be. She’d put beautiful summery flowers into a vase on the nightstand, which made the room smell like a flower garden. There was also a little blanket on the nightstand and little dish full of water next to the flowers. For Pascal, Elsa guessed.

She opened the blinds to let some light in, then walked over to Anna and gently tapped her shoulder.

“Anna,” Elsa whispered softly.

Anna jolted awake.

“Yes,” Anna said, disoriented. She looked around and gasped. “Oh. It’s tomorrow already??”

She jumped off the bed and smoothed the crinkles where she’d been lying.

“I must have fallen asleep,” she said worriedly. Her hair was a mess, and it usually is when she’s just woken up. “I’m still wearing my clothes from yesterday. Oh no. I need to get ready for our guests!!”

“It’s okay Anna, there’s still time before they arrive,” Elsa reassured her.

Anna did a little twirl, making sure the room looked okay, and then stopped facing Elsa. “Sorry, Elsa. I was so excited to make up the room for Rapunzel and Eugene that I must have just…” She walked over to the night stand. “Oh, I also put a little blanket for Pascal and a dish of water!!”

Anna walked back over to Elsa. “Anyway, I was so excited and I spent ages making sure it was perfect. I hope the quilt cover is okay. Not too girly for Eugene I hope?” Elsa nodded. “Anyway, last night I remember finishing setting up the room and getting it perfect. And I remember being so tired and I must have just lay down on the bed for a second, just to rest for a moment, and I must have fallen asleep because then you just woke me up a couple of minutes ago and…” Anna was talking very fast.

“It’s okay Anna,” Elsa calmly interrupted her. “Just go get ready. You’ve done a beautiful job.” Elsa smiled and looked around the room. “The quilt cover is beautiful. Not too girly.”

Anna smiled at Elsa. “Yes! I looked through the linen cupboard at all our quilt covers,” she looked up, trying to remember something. “Oh I think I left the cupboard a mess too, sorry.” She smiled apologetically at Elsa. “This one was the least girly I could find so hopefully it’s okay for Eugene.” She jumped up as she talked, trying so hard to contain her excitement.

“And the room is beautiful, Anna. And the flowers make the room smell wonderful.” Elsa smiled. “Now, you better go get ready. Our guests will be here soon.”

Anna jumped up and quickly ran around the room, smoothing out the bed again, and making sure the flowers were arranged correctly and that everything was perfect. Then she stood in the doorway and looked at the room one last time.

“Okay, it all looks good! Thank you for letting me set up the guest room for our guests, Elsa!”

Anna skipped over and hugged her sister. “I better go get ready!” she said as she pulled away.

She ran out of the room and then Elsa was alone. She breathed deeply and turned to exit the room. But she heard a noise, and turned back around. There was a wet patch on the outside of the window. She frowned and walked over.

She could hear someone talking faintly outside. She opened the balcony door and stuck her head out.

“Elsa,” Kristoff said, he was standing there on the balcony with a very shamed looking Sven.

“Kristoff,” Elsa ginned at him.

“Sorry, I’ll clean Sven’s slobber off the window,” He looked down as he talked her her, embarrassed. “I was looking for Anna but she wasn’t in her room.”

Elsa grinned, “She set up the guest room for our guests and managed to fall asleep, fully clothed, in the guest bed.”

Kristoff gave a laugh. “Typical Anna.”

“Yes, it is.” She smiled at him, thinking of their crazy Anna. “She’ll be ready soon. And Rapunzel and Eugene should arrive in about an hour.”

“We’ll just wait outside until you guys are ready. I brought our breakfast.” He opened up his shoulder bag a touch, and it was full of carrots. Sven tried to grab one, but Kristoff pushed his face away. “Not yet Sven.”

“Okay, Anna is very excited for our guests.”

“As am I,” Kristoff said. Sven nudged Kristoff and had a grumpy look on his face. “As are we.” Sven neighed at that.

Elsa shut the door and walked out into the hallway. She stopped when she got to the linen cupboard. She opened it and everything fell out and almost knocked her over. She gasped and shook her head. Well, Anna was right. She did leave it a mess.

A maid heard her gasp and came running over. “Are you okay Queen Elsa?”

“I’m fine, my sister just left this mess.”

“I will clean it up,” the maid bowed as she said it.

“Thank you,” Elsa said politely.

She felt bad about having maids sometimes. Her and Elsa are completely capable of cleaning and tidying up themselves. She tries to do those things herself, as does Anna. They try to keep that side of their lives grounded. But she is a Queen and had lots of responsibilities. Most of the time she’s very busy, so maids can be helpful. But she does sometimes feel guilty about it.

Elsa and Anna went to get ready for the arrival of their guests.

After she was ready, Elsa walked down the stairs. She decided to wear a teal green dress. Full length with purple and pink flowers on the shoulders and length of the dress. It was a summery looking dress that would shine in the sunlight. It’s the dress she wore to her birthday party last year.

Anna was already downstairs waiting at the door. She wearing a teal green and yellow dress, with sunflowers all over it. Her hair was in a bun with a sunflower ribbon hanging down. It was the same dress she wore to her birthday party too.

“You look beautiful Anna,” Elsa said and she got to the bottom of the staircase.

Anna turned around and her eyes lit up when she saw Elsa.

“Wow, Elsa!!” She ran over and embraced Elsa in a hug. “You look so, so, so beautiful!!”

“Thank you Anna,” Elsa said delicately as they split apart. “Is that the same dress you wore to my birthday party?”

Anna looked down at her dress and nodded. “Yes, yes it is! So is yours! I thought it was appropriate for the arrival of Rapunzel and Eugene. Because they’re from Corona right? Which I imagine is full of summery things and flowers and beautiful scenery and smells and…”

“Anna, calm down,” Elsa interrupted her. She was in one of those moods again.

Anna gave a deep breath. “Sorry, I’m just so excited for the guests!”

“I know you are Anna, but sometimes you just need to calm down,” Elsa reminded her.

“I know,” Anna said, embarrassed.

“Hey, where’s Kristoff?” Elsa asked. “He was out on the balcony this morning while you were getting ready.”

“He was?” Anna said, confused. “I didn’t think he’s arrived yet,” She went and opened the front door.

Kristoff and Sven were sitting on the ground outside. They’d obviously finished their breakfast of carrots. Sven’s face was orange. So was Kristoff’s. Anna almost freaked out when she saw him.

“Kristoff!!” Anna yelled at him.

He was half asleep, and jolted awake. “Anna. Hey. Sorry, just resting my eyes. I waited for you but you weren’t in your room…”

Anna cut in. “Why aren’t you wearing the floral shirt I told you to wear?” Kristoff looked at her blankly. “You promised you’d wear it.”  
“Uh,” Kristoff tried to think of an excuse. Honestly, he’d completely forgotten. “Sorry.” He looked down.

“And your face is orange!!” Anna walked over to him. She licked her finger and tried to clean his face. “Our guests are coming soon and you’re not even presentable!”

“Sorry, Anna,” Kristoff said, embarrassed. Sven had a sad puppy dog look on his face.

Anna sighed. “It’s too late for you to go back home and get the shirt. It’s okay, lets just come inside and get you cleaned up.” Anna pulled Kristoff onto his feet. “Sven you’ve got to stay out here, okay.” Anna told him. Sven huffed and then sat down like a dog.

They walked in to get Kristoff cleaned up.

Elsa closed the door and turned around. She gasped. Olaf was standing in front of her. Sometimes he was so quiet.

“Are our guests here yet? Is Pascal here?” Olaf asked excitedly. He stood on his tiptoes trying to see out of the window, but he was too short.

“Not yet, Olaf, but they’ll be here soon,” Elsa knelt down and patted his head. She noticed something sticking out of his neck. “What’s this?”

Olaf looked down. “Oh, that’s the bowtie Anna gave me. It’s got flowers on it!”

You could barely see it. Just a little tiny green lump coming out of his neck, covered in snow.

“Oh,” Elsa giggled. “You looked beautiful, Olaf. Like a real summery snowman!”

Olaf jumped up, spraying Elsa with snow. That was a big praise for him. He started chanting, ‘Olaf and Pascal. Pascal and Olaf’ and walking around in circles.

Elsa stood up and brushed the snow off her, looking around and thinking about how much she loved her crazy family.


	3. Chapter 3

Elsa looked through the window and saw the gates starting to open. “Anna,” she yelled. “They’re here!”

 

There was a crash from upstairs. Elsa shook her head. What this time?

 

Anna appeared up the top of the staircase and started dragging Kristoff down the stairs. His face was no longer orange and he was wearing his usual ice picking outfit, but with a floral printed tie. It looked a very unlike Kristoff thing to wear, but it matched Anna’s dress.

 

“Sorry, sorry,” Anna said as she got to the bottom of the stairs. “Does Kristoff look okay, Elsa?”

 

“You look very handsome, Kristoff,” Elsa nodded at him.

 

Kristoff smiled back at her.

 

Elsa opened the door. Rapunzel and Eugene had just met Sven. They were patting him. Sven was licking Rapunzel’s face. She turned and saw Elsa standing at the door.

 

Rapunzel ran over to Elsa and embraced her in a hug. “It’s so nice to finally meet you cousin Elsa!”

 

Elsa hugged her back. “It’s so nice to meet you too Rapunzel.”

 

As they pulled apart, Eugene walked over and introduced himself.

 

“Hi, I’m Rapunzel’s husband, Eugene.” He held out his hand and Elsa shook it.

 

Anna barged through the door past Elsa and embraced both Rapunzel and Eugene in a hug. “I’m Anna. It’s so great to fiiiiinaly meet you!!” she said excitedly. She pulled away but was still holding one of each of their hands. “Cousin Rapunzel!” She faced Rapunzel as she said it. “And Eugene.” She turned to Eugene.

 

Kristoff came outside.

 

“Oh, and this is my boyfriend, Kristoff.” Kristoff awkwardly waved to them.

 

They both smiled at her but were clearly slightly taken aback with her friendliness.

 

Elsa felt something brushing past her feet. Olaf.

 

“Pascal??” Olaf said as he wandered outside. “Where’s Pascal?”

 

Rapunzel and Eugene were kind of shocked. It must be odd seeing a real live snowman.

 

Anna let go of their hands. “Oh, this is Olaf!” she knelt down to Olaf’s level, grabbed his stick arms and looked backup at Rapunzel. “We told him about Pascal and all he’s been doing since then is chanting, ‘Olaf and Pascal. Pascal and Olaf.’ He’s very excited!”

 

Rapunzel smiled down at Olaf. “You’re adorable Olaf.” She looked down at her left shoulder. “It’s okay, Pascal. There’s no reason to hide.”

 

Olaf was staring up at her. “Uh,” he whispered to Anna. “Is she talking to her shoulder?”

 

Then, a shape began to appear on Rapunzel’s shoulder. He started out the colour of Rapunzel’s dress, but then slowly a green chameleon appeared.

 

“Ohhhhh,” Olaf said with wonder.

 

Rapunzel looked down at Pascal. He was looking up at her with uncertain eyes. “It’s okay Pascal, Olaf is very excited to meet you.”

 

Pascal looked down at Olaf staring up at him. Then he reluctantly started to climb down Rapunzel’s arm. When he got to her hand, he jumped and slid down the skirt of her dress. He landed lightly on the ground. He was a bit embarrassed because everyone was staring at him. He slowly walked towards Olaf. When he reached him, he looked up at Olaf.

 

“Oooooh, Pascal!!” He knelt down so his eyes were level with him. “Hi, I’m Olaf and I like warm hugs!” He tried to hug Pascal, but Pascal jumped up and landed on his carrot nose.

 

Olaf stood up and tired to look down at him, but that made him go cross eyed. The snow from Olaf’s personal flurry was making Pascal sneeze. Olaf touched Pascal with his stick hands. “Ooooh, you’re like a little baby unicorn!”

 

Olaf’s hands were tickling Pascal. But Pascal didn’t look annoyed. He looked to be quite enjoying himself.

 

“Well, they seem to be getting along,” Anna said with a smile.

 

“Yes, they do,” Rapunzel agreed. “Be nice, Pascal.”

 

Pascal turned around, looked up at Rapunzel and confidently nodded.

 

Anna clapped her hands together. “Okay, do come inside Rapunzel and Eugene!”

 

They all walked inside. Olaf and Pascal coming in last, a trail of snow following them.

 

“Would you like to see your room? And then I can give you a tour of the castle?” Anna was asking the guests.

 

Rapunzel and Eugene nodded.

 

“Great! This way then…” she trailed off as she began walking up the stairs with Rapunzel and Eugene following her.

 

Elsa and Kristoff were alone in the entranceway.

 

“So, do you need help getting brunch ready?” Kristoff nervously asked.

 

“Yes, actually, that would be great,” Elsa replied with a smile.

 

Elsa and Kristoff headed into the dining room to set the dining table. Elsa was in charge of cutlery. As a Queen, she knows the correct order to place them on the table. Kristoff was in charge of the plates and glasses. There’s only one glass, a salad plate and main plate, so he shouldn’t stuff up the placement of them.

 

They were silently setting the table. Elsa was not the best at socialisation and smalltalk. Neither was Kristoff.

 

“Oh wow, this plate is _really_ clean,” Kristoff said after minutes of silence. He was holding up a salad plate.

 

Elsa looked at it. “Oh, that’s the one that Anna…” She giggled. “Last night we had a little accident. Almost,” she continued.

 

Kristoff raised his eyebrows.

 

“Anna almost dropped a salad plate, but I saved it with my ice powers.”

 

“Typical Anna,” Kristoff laughed.

 

Elsa laughed too. “She joked that the plate got an extra clean.”

 

Kristoff placed the salad plate onto a placemat. “This one will be Anna’s plate then.”

 

Elsa smiled. He was really good for her. Sweet and gentle, exactly the type of person Anna needs.

 

The finished setting the table as Anna came downstairs with Rapunzel and Eugene. Anna delicately jumped down the last few steps.

 

“Well, I gave them a tour of the castle and showed them their room!” Anna said to Elsa.

 

“The room is very beautiful,” Rapunzel said as she stepped down the last step. “Thank you, Anna.”

 

Anna stood up straight and her mouth went into a very wide smile.

 

“Yes, thank you Anna,” Eugene agreed.

 

“I’m starving!” Anna announced.

 

“Oh, yes, lets come and have brunch,” Elsa said as she motioned to the doorway.

 

They all walked into the dining room and sat around the table.

 

Kristoff led Anna to the seat with the extra clean salad plate.

 

“This is your plate,” Kristoff said to her.

 

Anna looked confused. She picked the salad plate and inspected it. “Oh, it’s extra clean. Elsa told you about last night…”

 

Kristoff nodded.

 

“It was all okay though, Elsa saved it,” she said as she placed the plate back on the table. “And now I have an extra clean salad plate!” She smiled.

 

Olaf walked into the room with Pascal still on his nose. He was having a conversation with Pascal. Not exactly sure what he was saying to him.

 

Brunch was served. The maids brought out all the food. Little crustless sandwiches with cucumber. Summer salads with hydrating lettuces and apples. Fruit platters full of all the colours of the rainbow and so much more.

 

And of course, chocolate! There was a mini chocolate fountain with strawberries to dip in it.

 

The all ate their food. Olaf was feeding Pascal grapes. He’d hold one up in his little stick hand and Pascal would grab it with his tongue. Each time he ate one, Olaf gave out a big laugh.

 

“So,” Anna said through mouthfuls of food. “Rapunzel and Eugene, how did you two meet?”

 

Rapunzel looked at Eugene and then answered. “Well, we went on an adventure together.”

 

Anna almost spat out her food. “No way!” she said loudly. “That’s exactly how Kristoff and I met too!!”

 

“Really?” Rapunzel asked.

 

Anna nodded enthusiastically. “Yes!! We went on an epic adventure together. We met at this trading post, run by this kinda strange guy named Oaken. Then there were wolves. And an ice castle. And Marshmallow. Oh and Olaf of course!”

 

Olaf perked his head up at the mention of his name, then he continued feeding Pascal grapes.

 

“And Kristoff introduced me to his family of trolls,” Anna continued.

 

“Trolls?” Rapunzel asked quizzically.

 

“Yes, Kristoff lives with a family of trolls! They’re very sweet! But then they did almost marry us when we’d just met!” She gave a laugh. “And then I needed a true loves kiss. Well, I thought that’s what I needed to help me get better. So I went to Prince Hans, but he didn’t love me. He just wanted to be King and take all our money.”

 

Elsa frowned, remembering everything that happened.

 

Anna noticed Elsa’s expression. “Anyway, I didn’t love Hans. I realised I loved Kristoff. We went on an awesome adventure together and now we’re as happy as can be!” She finished cheerfully.

 

Kristoff smiled down at Anna and kissed the top of her head.

 

“Wow, our story is quite similar!“ Rapunzel said.

 

Anna giggled. “Wow, we’re so similar. We’re _totally_ cousins!”

 

Rapunzel and Eugene told the story of how they met. Elsa listened. She only spoke when someone asked her a question. She was watching them. Anna and Rapunzel were becoming such good friends. It was like they’d been friends for years. Kristoff actually opened up to Eugene a bit too. He was being quite social.

 

Anna had a wonderful boyfriend, Kristoff. Rapunzel and Eugene were husband and wife. Olaf and Pascal had become very fast friends. Elsa felt alone. She knows Anna didn’t mean to exclude her, she just loves meeting new people.

 

“You should visit Corona one day!” Rapunzel said to Anna.

 

“I would love to see the lanterns!” Anna said excitedly. “They sound so beautiful!” She turned to face Elsa. “We _have_ to go to Corona sometime soon, Elsa!”

 

Elsa smiled at her sister. “Yes, of course we will.”

 

Anna turned back to the guests and continued talking. Elsa was feeling excluded. She didn’t blame them, she just isn’t really the social type.

 

“I have some things to do,” Elsa said as she stood up. Everyone stopped to look at her. “It’s okay, carry on with your conversations. I just have some Queen duties.”

 

“Okay, Elsa,” Anna said. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep our guests entertained.” She had a huge smile on her face as she turned back and continued her conversation.

 

Elsa’s smile turned to a frown as she turned around and left the room. It’s not that she was sad. She loved that they had guests over. It was better than when they had the gates locked for years after their parents died. She just felt a bit lonely. They all had a companion and she didn’t.

 

Being Queen was lonely sometimes. She had so many responsibilities. Being Queen of a Kingdom was hard work. She didn’t necessarily have time for a relationship. And someone might only want to be with her so he could become King. How would she know? Although her hunch about Hans was correct. She longed for someone though. Anna was a great sister and her best friend, but sometimes she wanted someone else.

 

Those thoughts made her sad. She walked up the stairs into her bedroom. She shut the door behind her and looked at herself in the mirror.

 

She took off her crown and placed it on the bedside table. Elsa riffled through her closet and looked through all her clothes.

 

She found some and changed into them. A blue frilly top with flowers on the neckline. She liked floral clothes it seemed. And a knee length teal green flowy skirt, similar colour to her dress that she was wearing.

 

She stood in front the mirror, then looked through her closet again and found a dark blue cap. She undid her braid and brushed out her hair with her fingers. Then she pulled her hair back into a high ponytail. She put the cap on her head and pulled her hair through. She tucked some loose bits of hair into the cap.

 

She looked at her reflection in the mirror. She didn’t really look like a Queen. She looked like a regular girl. Well, she hoped she did.

 

She found some hightop sneakers and put them on. They were blue too. Well, blue is her colour. She is the Ice Queen. 

 

Now she looked like a real average person. No one should look twice when they see her. _Okay_ , Elsa thought to herself. _Let’s do this._

 

She opened her bedroom door and walked out. She went to the guards room. She should probably let someone know where she’s going. She lightly knocked on the door. Her guards were in there playing cards.

 

“Yes, Queen Elsa,” the said in unison. Well, they obviously recognised her.

 

“I’m going to go out and run a few errands. Just wanted to let you know,” she said gracefully.

 

The guards stood up. “We’ll come with you,” the biggest one, Bill, said.

 

“No, no,” Elsa said. “I want to go by myself. I’ll be fine.”

 

The other guard, Devon, looked at Bill. “Uh, are you sure that’s wise Queen Elsa?” Devon said.

 

“You should have guards out with you whenever you leave the castle. There are people who might try to hurt you,” Bill said, his brows furrowed.

 

Elsa sighed. “Yes, I’m aware of the dangers. But please, I’d just like to go somewhere alone. I’m tired of constantly being escorted by people. It brings attention to myself, which is very exhausting.”

 

Bill and Devon looked at each other.

 

“I’d just like to do something for myself for once, please?” Elsa continued, with a pleading look on her face.

 

They saw how much she wanted this and both nodded.

 

Elsa smiled. “I’m not wearing Queen-ly clothes. And if someone tries to hurt me, I can always freeze them.” She smirked at them.

 

Her guards smiled at that.

 

“Thank you for understanding.” Elsa smiled at them. “Oh, and please don’t tell Anna. I won’t be too long. I’ll be back before she even realises I’ve left.”

 

“If you’re sure Queen Elsa?” Bill asked, giving her a nod.

 

“I’m sure,” Elsa said reassuringly.

 

Bill and Devon went back to their game of cards, obviously okay with her expedition.

 

She turned and walked back down the corridor to her room, smiling to herself and feeling independent.

 

She grabbed her sunglasses off her nightstand, and put them on. She looked at herself in the mirror one last time.

 

Her sunglasses were blue too. _Oh well_ , she thought as she shrugged.

 

She opened the balcony door and slipped outside. She walked along the perimeter of the balcony and down the steps. She walked through the gardens where she and Anna used to play as kids. She probably hadn’t been out here since their parents died. It was bringing back lots of memories. She didn’t go out much after they died.

 

Elsa made her way to the back gate. She didn’t want to go out the front because she’d also have to explain to those guards what she was doing. The back gate was meant to be used for emergencies only. Her father showed it to her when she was younger. She was the older child so he trusted her with the knowledge. Anna doesn’t even know about it.

 

The gate was hidden in bushland. She got a few scratches on her arms as she fought her way through the bushes. But she made it to the gate. There’s a special way to open it. She managed to get it open and squeezed out. She closed the gate and locked it behind her. She made it through the bushes on the other side and was out in the open air.

 

She was outside the castle gates. The first time she’d left the castle by herself, well, ever.


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn’t actually the first time she’d been out of the castle by herself. There was the time when she accidentally sent Arendelle into an eternal Winter. But she preferred to not to think about that. This was the first time she’d been out at her own will.

 

Elsa walked along the cliff face and marvelled at the beauty of Arendelle. She doesn’t get a chance to see it much, with all her Queen duties. She felt brave and free as she walked into town.

 

There were lots of people around, and she for a second expected her guards to surround her like they always do in crowds of people.

 

But she was alone. And no one gave her a second glance. It felt good to be normal for once. Elsa walked through all the market stalls and wandered around.

 

She had been here before, but always with guards and usually Anna too. She wandered through all the stalls. So many beautiful things. There were families with kids running around everywhere, and couples young and old. A mix of everyone. She doesn’t get to see the community of Arendelle all that often.

 

A stall that sells scarves caught her attention. There was beautiful light blue one with green flowers on it that was blowing in the wind. She picked it up off the rack. It was as delicate as a flower. So soft and smooth.

 

“That would look beautiful on you.”

 

Elsa jumped, startled. She turned around. It was the owner of the stall. A middle aged woman with short red hair.

 

“Oh,” Elsa said, unsure of how to react. She forced a smile. “Thank you.”

 

“Try it on,” the woman urged, smiling. She gestured towards the counter. “There’s a mirror over there.”

 

“Oh,” Elsa said anxiously. “Okay.”

 

Elsa wrapped the scarf around her neck and nervously walked over to the mirror. She could feel the owners eyes on her. Elsa was worried that she would recognise her, but she tried to push the thought out of her mind.

 

She wrapped the scarf around her neck and looked at herself in the mirror. It matched the top she was wearing. _This is so me_ , Elsa thought to herself.

 

She delicately took the scarf off and turned back to the owner. “I love it,” Elsa said to her.

 

“It is very beautiful,” she said as she walked over to the counter. “Would you like to buy it?”

 

“Yes,” Elsa nodded with a smile.

 

“That will be 25 dollars,” she said as Elsa handed her the scarf.

 

Elsa riffled through the pockets of her skirt and her heart dropped. She forgot to bring her purse. She had no money with her. Elsa’s face began to go red. She checked all the pockets. She found 3 dollars deep down in the left pocket, but that was not enough.

 

“Uh,” Elsa said, embarrassed. “I’m so sorry, but I forgot to bring my purse.”

 

“Oh,” The woman gave an apologetic look. “That’s a shame.”

 

“I’m so sorry,” Elsa said worriedly. _My first day out and I feel like I’ve scammed someone out of a sale._

 

“That’s okay,” the woman said. “Would you like me to hold onto it for you?” She neatly folded up the scarf. “My stall is open every weekday. You could come back another day and buy it.”

 

“Yes,” Elsa said, relieved. “Sorry, I really wanted it. But if you could hold on to it I’ll definitely come back to buy it.”

 

“Sure,” the woman smiled as she placed the folded scarf behind the counter.

 

“Thank you,” Elsa said. “I’ll be back in the next few days.”

 

“See you then.” The stall owner waved as she walked away.

 

Elsa waved back. _Well, now I have an excuse to leave the castle again_ , Elsa thought as she walked away.

 

Elsa spent the rest of the morning walking through the markets. Just looking. She didn’t have any money to buy anything. She did use the 3 dollars she found in her pocket to buy a bottle of juice. That’s about all she could afford. She sipped on her juice as she marvelled at all the beautiful products at the stalls.

 

By the time it was midday, she figured she should probably get back.

 

Elsa made her way back along the cliff face. She walked slowly so she could spend a little more time by herself before she’d have to get back to her duties.

 

The sun was shining, the wind was lightly blowing and everything was peaceful. But then she heard a splash and a cry for help.

 

Elsa ran over to the edge of the cliff and looked over. There was a decent drop to the rocks down below but she could make out a human shape splashing around in the water. Elsa looked around expecting her guards to go down and help, but then she remembered she was alone. There was no one else around and there wasn’t time to go to the castle for help. It would be too late by the time she got back.

 

_I need to go down and help_ , Elsa thought. She moved along slightly and found a strong looking rock to hold onto. She lowered her body down and carefully kicked around her feet to find a stable rock to stand on. Her feet were stable. For now. She slowly made her way down the cliff, careful not to slip.

 

She found a rhythm to climbing down. She could still hear splashing and yelling, which was good. It meant she still had time.

 

“Help!” she heard as she got closer to the water. “I can’t… swim!”

 

Elsa rushed a little and her foot slipped. She gave out a little gasp but quickly found her footing again. She took a deep breath, and then slowly and carefully made her way down to the rocks below.

 

She almost slipped on the wet rocks. Careful of where she put her feet, she made her way over to the edge of the water. The person was still splashing around in the water. As she got closer she saw that it was a boy, around her age, with dark hair.

 

He saw her, and flailed his arms at her. “Help! Please help me! I can’t…” he said frantically, as a wave pushed him under.

 

“I will,” Elsa yelled, when his head bobbed above the water again. “Don’t worry. Stay calm.” Her voice was cut off by the wind and crashing of the waves.

 

Elsa looked around, thinking of what she could do. There was a thin tree sticking out of a rock that bent out over the ocean like a pier. That’d have to do. She crawled over and out onto the pier rock. There was less of a chance of slipping if she crawled.

 

She looked over to check that the boy was okay. Apart from the waves pushing him under every few seconds, he seemed okay. He was still alive.

 

When Elsa got to the tree she checked on the boy again. She waited until a wave pushed him under, and then used her ice powers to shoot ice out at the base of the tree. She turned to check on the boy. He came up after she’d done it. He didn’t see a thing.

 

Elsa grabbed the middle of the tree and pulled. Just as she thought. The ice made the tree more fragile. She managed to pull it down and snap it off. It was a very small tree so it wasn’t too heavy.

 

Elsa made her way back along the pier rock onto the more stable rocks. She knelt down and held the tree out to the boy. He was going under every few seconds. It worried Elsa that he was swallowing a lot of seawater. She needed to get him out. She used all her strength to hold the tree out to him.

 

“Grab on!!” Elsa yelled.

 

The boy flailed his arms around, trying to fight the waves to grab onto the tree. He managed to grab the very end, but it was too thin and snapped off.

 

“You can do it!” Elsa yelled. Her arms were aching but she held on.

 

The boy reached his arms out as far as he could and grabbed onto the tree. A solid, thick bit this time. The water kept pushing him under but he held on.

 

“Don’t let go!” Elsa yelled, as she started to crawl backwards. It took so much strength, but she kept going.

 

Elsa kept making sure that he was still holding on as she made her way backwards. Once she’d made it far enough, she let go off the tree, hoping that it would stay in place as she crawled forward. She reached out for his hand.

 

“Grab my hand!” she yelled.

 

The boy looked up at her and reached one hand out to hers. Elsa kept one hand on the tree as she reached her other hand out to the boy. She grabbed his hand and pulled him back. When he was close enough she let go of the tree and grabbed his other hand.

 

“Okay,” Elsa said, breathless, when he was at the edge of the water. “I need you to you try to get yourself up.”

 

The boy nodded and put his hands on the rocks and tried to push up. Elsa grabbed under his arm pits to help him. When he was halfway up, Elsa pulled him the rest of the way. She noticed he wasn’t wearing any shoes. He must have lost them in the ocean.

 

“Thank you,” the boy croaked, and then coughed up some water. Elsa helped to get him sitting upright. She hit his back to help him get all the ocean water out of his system. He coughed until his throat was dry.

 

“Thank you,” the boy croaked again. “If you hadn’t come I don’t know what…” he coughed again.

 

“Are you okay?” Elsa asked, concerned. “Do you need me to take you to the hospital?”

 

“No, no, no,” the boy said, suddenly confident. “I’m fine.”

 

“You almost drowned,” Elsa pointed out. “You’re not _fine_.”

 

The boy started to stand up. Elsa grabbed him to stop him from falling.

 

“No I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Elsa was really worried. He was probably very weak from almost drowning.

 

He kept trying to stand up and was surprisingly strong on his feet. He took a step. “See, I can walk.”

 

“At least let me help you walk over to the beach,” Elsa said, sighing. She put her hands around his shoulders.

 

Elsa supported him as they carefully walked along the rocks over to the beach. When they made it to the sand, he collapsed.

 

Elsa gasped.

 

“I’m okay,” he said, breathing deeply. “Just need to rest.” He pushed himself up and was sitting against a rock.

 

“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do?” Elsa said worriedly.

 

“You just saved my life, you’ve done enough,” the boy said with a smile. He had brown eyes.

 

Elsa stood above him, biting her fingernail nervously. “What were you even doing out there? Those rocks are a dangerous place to go alone, especially for someone who can’t swim.”

 

“I was just exploring,” he said, shrugging.

 

Elsa narrowed her eyes. “Exploring? You’re not from here are you?”

 

“No,” the boy said. “Just visiting. It’s a beautiful place though. Do you have recommendations about where else I could go explore?”

 

“For a boy who I just saved from drowning?” Elsa raised her eyebrows. “Somewhere far away from any kind of water.”

 

“Probably a good idea.” The boy gave a croaky laugh. “I’m Jack, by the way.” He held his hand up to her.

 

Elsa shook his hand. “I’m El…” _No, I don’t want him to know who I really am, s_ he thought, quickly trying to think of a fake name. “Ellen.”

 

“Well, Ellen,” Jack let go of her hand. “Thank you, again, for saving my life.”

 

“You’re welcome Jack,” Elsa nodded. She suddenly looked concerned. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

 

“Yes,” Jack nodded. “If I’m not feeling good I’ll go to the hospital.” He coughed again, making his voice even more croaky. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

 

The way he talked was very reassuring, but she didn’t entirely trust the word of someone who had almost died.

 

“Okay,” Elsa said, still concerned.

 

“So,” Jack said. “Maybe I’ll see you around?”

 

Elsa smiled. “See you around.”

 

Elsa walked along the sand. She looked back and Jack was watching her leave. She tried to ignore his eyes on her and she made her way up the stairs.

 

_Maybe you will actually see me around_ , Elsa thought as she made her way back home.

 

Elsa continued walking along the cliff face. She looked down to where she saved Jack and could see the tree bobbing in the water. She sighed. She still felt guilty about not having money to buy the scarf, but she had just saved someones life. She felt like her first solo expedition was not a complete fail.

 

What if she hadn’t been there? What if she hadn’t heard Jack’s screams? He might have died. The thought made her feel sick. She was a bit mad though. That boy was stupid. _He couldn’t swim and he decided to go out onto the slippery rocks by himself_ , she thought. But there was something about him, his brown eyes perhaps, that she couldn’t be mad at. He made her feel all warm and funny inside. She’d never felt like that before. She smiled to herself.

 

She made it back to the gates and opened the hidden door into the garden. She walked through and quietly opened her balcony door and slipped back inside.

 

Elsa looked at herself in the mirror. She had a smile plastered on her face. She couldn’t remember the last time she smiled this much. There was almost a tragedy today but for some reason she felt very happy. She felt good.

 

She changed out of her clothes and back into the dress she was wearing earlier. She braided her hair back up in it’s usual style and went down the hall and knocked on the guards door. She opened the door. Bill and Devon were still playing cards.

 

They looked up as she popped her head in. “Queen Elsa,” they both said.

 

“I just wanted to let you know I’m back,” Elsa said, smiling.

 

“We’re glad you got back safe,” Devon said.

 

“My Queen,” Bill said nodding towards her.

 

“Thank you, you may get back to your card game now,” she said as she closed the door.

 

She was only gone a few hours. She doubted Anna even realised she was gone. She walked down the stairs and into the dining room. The table had been cleared and everything was tidy. She could hear talking and laughter coming from the living room.

 

She followed the wet marks on the floor, Olaf’s footprints, into the living room. Anna was sitting on the floor with Rapunzel, showing her photo albums. Kristoff and Eugene were sitting on the couch chatting. They were very deep in conversation. And Olaf was playing hide and seek with Pascal.

 

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1…” Olaf said loudly and he bounced up and started running around the room. “Pascal!” he yelled. He searched everywhere in the room and then suddenly Pascal appeared on Kristoff’s head.

 

“Pascal!” Olaf yelled as he noticed him. He ran over and grabbed Pascal up by the tail on his stick arm. Pascal licked his carrot nose and had a huge grin on his face.

 

“Oh, I found you Pascal!” Olaf span around and then noticed Elsa. “Elsa! You’re back!”

 

“I see you and Pascal are having fun together,” Elsa said as Olaf ran over and gave her legs a hug, soaking the bottom of her dress.

 

Anna looked up. “Elsa! Did you get all your duties done?” she asked.

 

“Yes,” Elsa replied. In truth, she got all the things that she needed to do today done before Rapunzel and Eugene even arrived. “Thank you for understanding. I see you’ve kept our guests occupied.”

 

“Yes! We chatted for a while after we finished eating brunch and now I’ve just been showing Rapunzel some photo albums.” Anna said very excitedly.

 

“And Eugene and I have just been chatting,” Kristoff said. “We’re thinking of maybe going water skiing tomorrow.”

 

“Oh yes!” Anna exclaimed. “That would be so much fun!”

 

“And Pascal and I have been playing hide and seek!” Olaf said, twirling around. Pascal held on tight with his tail so he wouldn’t fly off Olaf’s nose.

 

“Well, that’s great.” Elsa came and sat down next to Anna.

 

They spent the rest of the day with their guests. Just catching up with their cousins who they only met for the first time today.

 

Elsa went to bed that night exhausted. It was a big day. Meeting their cousins for the first time. Going out of the castle by herself. Saving someone from drowning. Jack’s big brown eyes were the last thing she thought of before she fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, they were planning to go water skiing. Elsa decided not to go. She told them she had things she needed to do today. Really, she wasn’t that fond of water skiing. Anna was the one who really loved it. She usually only went because of Anna. And, she really just wanted to go out by herself again.

 

“It’s a shame you can’t come, Elsa,” Anna said as she was smothering herself in sunscreen.

 

“It’s fine, Anna,” Elsa assured her. “I didn’t feel like water skiing much today anyway.”

 

“Well, I’ll miss you,” she hugged her sister. “And we’ll be sure to tell you all about it when we get back!”

 

Elsa smiled at her sister.

 

Olaf walked up to Anna, Pascal on his shoulder. “Anna, do we need sunscreen?”

 

Anna laughed. “No, no Olaf. Your personal flurry is enough protection from the sun. And Pascal is not very sensitive to the sun so he’ll be fine.”

 

Elsa came back upstairs to her room and got changed. She wore slightly different clothes to what she wore yesterday. This time a light coral coloured top and turquoise flowy skirt. She undid her hair and tied in a high ponytail, just like yesterday. And she put her blue cap and blue sunglasses on.

 

And this time she remembered to bring her purse. She checked she had cash, which luckily she did. She put it in her pocket and left the castle grounds.

 

She walked along the cliff face and admired the view. Her home was very beautiful. She couldn’t help but smile as she walked along, thinking of the possibility that she might see Jack again today. She found herself slowly skipping instead of walking. She went back to walking as she got closer to the markets, as to not bring attention to herself.

 

She was a lot more confident today. She made her way to the scarves stall. The owner was at the counter looking down reading a book. Elsa nervously walked over.

 

“Hi,” Elsa said, her voice slightly shaking. “I came yesterday and found a scarf that I wanted to buy, but I forgot to bring my purse so…”

 

“Yes,” the lady looked up and smiled. “Of course, of course, I remember.” She reached down under the counter and got out the blue scarf which was neatly folded.

 

“Thank you,” Elsa said as she got her purse and counted the right amount of money.

 

“Of course, dear. 25 dollars please,” the lady said, smiling.

 

Elsa handed her 25 dollars and she handed Elsa the scarf. “Thanks again.”

 

“It looks lovely on you, dear. Enjoy,” she said and she put the money into the cash register.

 

Elsa smiled and turned around. She walked over to a stone ledge and sat down. She unfolded the scarf and debated whether she should put it on. It was Summer and quite a hot day. Not really weather to be wearing a scarf. But on the other hand it was very thin and wouldn’t make her too warm.

 

She started to put the scarf on, when she heard a voice behind her.

 

“That really suits you,” the voice said.

 

Elsa was a little started as she turned towards the voice. It was him. It was Jack.

 

“Sorry, I didn’t meant to scare you,” Jack said.

 

“No, sorry, I just…” she stumbled of what to say next.

 

Jack came and sat down next to her. “I was just _exploring_ the markets. Somewhere far away from water, as you suggested.” Elsa blushed and looked down. “But I’d recognise you anywhere.”

 

Elsa looked up embarrassed.

 

“It’s your bright blue hat,” he laughed.

 

“My hat?”

 

“It’s very bright. Not easy to miss,” he said with a smirk.

 

Elsa started to take her cap off. _Great_ , Elsa thought, _the last thing I want to do is bring attention to myself._

 

Jack stopped her. “Hey, I didn’t mean that as a bad thing. Honestly, I’d notice you even if you were wearing completely black or grey or any colour really.”

 

Elsa blushed some more.

 

“So, why are you putting a scarf when it’s boiling hot outside. You do know it’s Summer and not Winter right?” Jack raised his eyebrows.

 

“Yes,” Elsa gave a little laugh. “I know. I just bought this scarf a few minutes ago from a stall over there.” Elsa was fiddling with the scarf in her hands. She was very nervous. “I found it yesterday but I forgot to bring my purse so I couldn’t buy it. I specially came back today to buy it and I just wanted to wear…”

 

“You didn’t lose your purse in the water when you rescued me did you?” Jack said, interrupting her.

 

“No, no,” Elsa said. “No, this happened before I rescued you.”

 

“Good,” Jack said, relieved. “Hey I have an idea.” He held out his hand to her. “May I?”

 

Elsa nervously handed him the scarf. He took it in his hands and looked at it.

 

“Okay, turn around,” he said.

 

Elsa slowly turned away from facing him. She felt him touching her hair. Tying the scarf to her ponytail. _That’s actually a genius idea_ , she thought.

 

“Okay, done,” Jack said and jumped up. He grabbed Elsa’s hand and led her over to a stall which had a mirror.

 

Elsa looked at herself in the mirror. She turned and could see what Jack had done with the scarf. He’d tied it in a bow to the top of her ponytail.

 

“Now you can wear your new scarf but it won’t make you too hot on this beautiful Summer day,” Jack said, smiling.

 

“Thank you,” Elsa turned to face him.

 

“You’re very welcome,” Jack nodded at her. “Do you want to walk somewhere?”

 

Elsa smiled as she nodded. They walked along the edge of the markets.

 

“So, how are you?” Elsa asked Jack.

 

“You mean after I almost drowned yesterday? Completely fine actually. I coughed up quite a bit of sea water last night, but I think it’s all out of my system now. And I’ve got some water still stuck in my ears, so my hearing is not the best at the moment. But apart from that, I feel completely fine.”

 

That was reassuring to Elsa. “Did you end up going to the hospital? Just to make sure everything is fine?”

 

Jack shook his head. “No, no. I feel fine. I feel completely fine. I promise you I’m fine. No need to go to see a doctor.”

 

Elsa was quiet. He seemed fine, but it’s still good to get a professional opinion when you’ve almost drowned. But she didn’t want to push the issue any further. The came to a rock in a shady position that they sat on.

 

“So, have you lived in Arendelle long?” Jack asked her.

 

“All my life,” Elsa answered. “I’ve only been away from here once.” _When I accidentally caused an eternal Winter_ , she thought to herself. But best not to bring that up.

 

“Really?” Jack looked surprised. “Don’t get me wrong, Arendelle is beautiful, but don’t you want to explore the world?”

 

“One day maybe, but I love my home. How about you? How many places have you been to?”

 

“Everywhere and anywhere,” Jack laughed. “I’ve been all over the place. I love exploring. As you saw yesterday, I’m not scared of dangerous places.”

 

Elsa raised her eyebrows. “Not funny. If I hadn’t been there you might have drowned. It’s lucky that I was walking past and heard you.”

 

“Yes,” Jack looked thoughtful. “Very lucky. Thank you again, for saving my life. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t joke about it.”

 

“Is there anything in particular that brought you to Arendelle?”

 

“Yes, actually. I’m interested in royal places. Kingdoms and such. Have you ever met the Queen of Arendelle?” Jack asked her.

 

Elsa blushed and suddenly felt vey nervous. “Umm, yes,” she said, her voice cracking. “A couple of times.”

 

“I’m always interested to see how these place work. Where I live we don’t have kings or queens or royal families. So I’m interested in that sort of thing.”

 

Elsa nodded, trying to hide how nervous she was.

 

“So, do you live around here?”

 

Elsa nodded and pointed vaguely in the direction of the castle. “Over that way somewhere.”

 

Jack nodded. “Do you have any siblings? I have a younger sister. Her name is Mary. She loves the snow and ice skating. When it’s Winter time I have to go back home because I promised her I’d take her ice skating.”

 

“I have a younger sister too,” Elsa said, thinking of a fake name for Anna. “Her name is Ann. Actually, she was going water skiing with our cousins today.”

 

“Both our sisters like action sports!” Jack said with a laugh. “You didn’t want to go with them?”

 

“Water skiing isn’t really my thing,” Elsa shrugged.

 

“Well, you got hang out with me instead,” Jack smirked.

 

“Yes, true,” Elsa laughed.

 

“My parents worry sick when I’m travelling,” Jack changed the subject. “Even when I go exploring near home they worry. The don’t understand that that’s me. I love exploring. It’s all I want to do.”

 

Elsa didn’t know how to reply to that.

 

“Sorry,” Jack said. “Do you parents worry about you?”

 

“Umm,” Elsa stuttered. “They’re dead.”

 

“Oh Ellen,” Jack said, sadly. ‘I’m so sorry…”

 

Elsa gave a little sniffle.

 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have even brought that up.”

 

“It’s okay, it happened years ago. Their ship overturned as they were travelling to a wedding. They never found their bodies,” Elsa looked down sadly as she talked.

 

Jack put his hand on top of hers. “Hey, do you want to get some ice cream?”

 

Elsa looked up with a small smile on her face and nodded.

 

Elsa and Jack went and got ice cream and walked around the water. They talked. Elsa didn’t give too much away about her life. She was wary about what she said, keeping up the facade of Ellen. She found out that Jack is from a small town in the United States called Hawthorne.

 

“Hawthorne?” Elsa said as she ducked her head under a short tree. “I’ll have to visit someday.”

 

“Yes,” Jack said with a smile on his face. “You definitely should. It’s a beautiful little town; quite a bit smaller than this. We’re a very tight knit community.”

 

“It’ sounds wonderful,” Elsa said with a smile.

 

Elsa gave Jack a little tour of Arendelle. Concluding with the castle. He was very intrigued by it. The wall around the castle is very tall and he couldn’t see over it. So he proceeded to take his shoes off and climb up one of the flag poles. He did not look very stable. He gripped his feet onto the pole and continued climbing up. It reminded her that he was not wearing any shoes when she rescued him yesterday.

 

“Jack!” Elsa yelled worriedly.

 

“Don’t worry, I’m fine!” he yelled back. “I just want to see the castle.”

 

Elsa did not trust the boy who almost drowned yesterday to climb a very thin pole like this. He continued climbing higher. He was looking more unstable the higher he got. The wind was blowing him. Elsa started biting her nails nervously. Jack got almost to the top of the pole and looked out towards the castle. He looked back down at Elsa with a huge smile on his face. He was saying something but she could not hear her. Elsa shook her head up at him. She had a huge smile plastered on her face.

 

Jack started to come down the pole. A little too fast, which made Elsa nervous. At one point, only his hands were holding onto the pole and it looked like he might blow away. But he made it. A little too fast. His feet slammed into the ground followed by the rest of his body. He was lying on his side, breathing heavily.

 

“Jack?” Elsa said.

 

Jack rolled onto his back and smiled up at her. “I’m fine.”

 

Elsa shook her head and put her hand out to him. He grabbed it and she pulled him up. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s just add that to the list of things you should _not_ do. So far we’ve got swimming and climbing.”

 

Jack gave a little laugh. “Okay, I understand the swimming considering I never learnt how to swim. But I disagree with the climbing. I’m quite a good climber actually.”

 

“You almost slipped a few times while you were up there. And you almost blew away!” Elsa replied, he voice slightly rising.

 

“Okay, I’ll admit, I’m not the best at climbing poles,” he said as he picked up his shoes. “But trees, walls, rocks and anything else, trust me, I’m an expert.”

 

Elsa gave a little chuckle. “If you say so,” she said sarcastically.

 

Jack raised his eyebrows at her. “I just really wanted to see the castle. There was such a great view from up there. The courtyard is huge! That’s where they have an ice skating rink right?”

 

Elsa nodded. “Every Winter.”

 

“Oh wow, my sister would love that! The Queen can make the ice rink whenever she wants thought right? It doesn’t necessarily have to only be in Winter?”

 

That took Elsa aback. She didn’t realise how much he knew about her. She blushed a little and found it hard to talk. “Umm, yes. But, can you imagine it in Summer? It would continually melt and she would have to keep creating more and more ice. I’d assume it would get very exhausting.” It did. That’s why Elsa agreed to only set up the ice rink in Winter.

 

“Good point,” Jack agreed. “The Queen seems awesome! I’d love to meet her.” That made Elsa blush even more. “She’s part of the reason I came here, did I mention that?”

 

“Yes,” Elsa croaked. “You said you were interested in royal places.”

 

“Oh yes, that’s part of it. But I’ve always been fascinated by ice and snow. And the story of the Ice Queen captivated me. My sister is the one who first brought it to my attention. When she found out I was coming here she begged me to take her. I would have loved to have brought her here, but when I go exploring, I go alone.”

 

“You should bring her in Winter,” Elsa said. “It’s beautiful at that time of year.”

 

“Oh yes, I’m definitely planning to bring her one Winter,” Jack agreed. “I just wanted to come on my own first.” They were walking along the bridge back into the main part of town.

 

Jack looked back over his shoulder. “I wish I could go into the castle.”

 

Elsa looked down. She could tell him. She could take him there. She could tell him who she really was. He’s already met the Queen. It terrified her though. It made her too nervous. “By the way,” Elsa said, changing the subject. “Did you lose your shoes in the water yesterday?”

 

“Oh,” Jack said, looking down at the shoes he was still carrying. “No, no, I prefer to wear no shoes. It feels more natural. I only wear them when I have to. Like today on the hot concrete. I don’t want to burn my feet. On rocks and grass I never wear shoes. I feel like I slip more when I’m wearing shoes.”

 

“You still slipped on the rocks yesterday though,” Elsa pointed out.

 

“True, but if I was wearing shoes it probably would have been a lot worse.”

 

Elsa looked down at his feet. “You’re not wearing shoes now on the concrete.”

 

Jack looked down, then back up at the sky. “The suns beginning to go down so the concrete isn’t as hot now.”

 

Elsa looked up at the sun. It was nearly sunrise. She’d been out almost the whole day. “Oh, I didn’t realise it was this late. I better get home.”

 

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realise it was this late either. We’ve been together for a long time. Time just flew by,” Jack said, smiling.

 

The made it back to the place where they met this morning. Elsa was nervous. She wasn’t sure how to say goodbye to him.

 

“So,” Jack said, nervously. “Can I see you again tomorrow?”

 

“Yes,” Elsa replied immediately. She didn’t even have to think about it. Of course she wanted to see him again.

 

“How about, same place, around the same time?” he suggested.

 

“Sure,” Elsa said with a huge smile on her face. “See you tomorrow.”

 

“See you tomorrow,” Jack said, waving to her and beginning to walk away.

 

Elsa gave him a little nervous wave and started walking the other way. She was smiling. She felt so happy. There was this strange feeling inside her that she couldn’t quite pinpoint. It made her feel warm. She’d never experienced anything like it before. It scared her a bit. But she liked that unknown feeling very much.


	6. Chapter 6

 

Elsa made it back to the castle. She changed out of her clothes and back into a dress. She was about to go downstairs when she realised she still had the scarf tied into her hair. She remembered Jack’s hands as he tied it into her ponytail. The thought made her shiver. She carefully took the scarf out of her hair and hung it over her full length mirror. She undid her hair and braided her hair in its usual style.

 

Elsa quietly walked downstairs. There were puddles of water everywhere. Elsa sighed. She goes out for one day and comes back to the house an absolute mess.

 

Just then, Olaf came running past, still with his sunhat and sunglasses on. He slid on the puddles of water.

 

“Olaf, be careful,” Elsa said sternly.

 

“Oh Elsa!” Olaf said and he slid to a stop. “We had the best time water skiing. Pascal and I were the best!” Suddenly Olaf’s sun hat flew off and Pascal was standing on Olaf’s head.

 

Elsa grinned. “Oh were you? I’m glad you had a good time.” Elsa patted Pascal on the head.

 

Elsa walked into the kitchen just as Anna came in drying her hair with a towel. “Elsa!” She let the towel drop to the ground and gave her sister a big hug.

 

Elsa smiled at her. “I see you had a great time.”

 

“Yes, we did!” Anna exclaimed. “Kristoff was driving the boat for the most part, and Eugene helped out too! Rapunzel and I water skied together and it was soooooo much fun! And I held Olaf and Rapunzel held Pascal so they got a go at skiing too!”

 

“Olaf told me that he and Pascal were the best,” Elsa grinned at Anna.

 

“Oh, yes,” Anna laughed. “They were great! Rapunzel and I also drove the boat and let Kristoff and Eugene have a go at skiing. Kristoff is not very good though, and Eugene wasn’t really into it either so they preferred just letting us girls ski.”

 

“Sounds like a fun day,” Elsa said.

 

“It was,” Anna agreed. “How was your day? Did you get all your work done?”

 

“Yes,” Elsa lied. “It was a very productive day.” She felt bad lying to her sister, but she didn’t want to tell her just yet. She hadn’t even told Jack who she really is. Telling Anna would make things very complicated. And mostly, the thought of telling her made Elsa very nervous.

 

“Great!” Anna said, picking up her towel. “Kristoff and I are going to make dinner so you can just go relax.”

 

“Oh, you’re wonderful Anna. I’m sure it will be delicious.” Elsa hugged her sister.

 

Elsa walked out of the room. She looked back, and Anna had wrapped her wet hair up in the towel and was clanging pots and pans around. Elsa sighed and left her to it. Her sister may be clumsy but for the most part she trusted her. She’d never done anything too stupid.

 

Elsa grabbed a book and went outside to read.

 

She was just about to sit down on the outdoor couch, when she noticed Rapunzel sitting cross legged on the ground.

 

“Oh, sorry,” Elsa said apologetically. “I didn’t realise anyone was out here.”

 

Rapunzel turned her head and looked at Elsa. She had her short brown hair done up in a bun and had paint on her arms. “It’s okay,” she said happily. “I’m just painting. I don’t mind if you’re out here too.”

 

“I take it you had a great time water skiing?” Elsa asked.

 

“Oh yes!” Rapunzel said enthusiastically. “It was so much fun! But it was very exhausting. My arms and legs and everything is aching! That’s why I’m painting. It helps me relax and unwind.” She looked out at the view. You could see the whole city of Arendelle from up here. It was quite beautiful. “I also couldn’t resist painting this amazing view.”

 

Elsa smiled at that. “I read to relax. Whereas Anna likes to be noisy and talk and never really calms down. I need quiet to unwind. Just the sound…”

 

“Of nature,” Rapunzel finished.

 

“Yes, that’s what I was going to say. It’s so pure and relaxing to just hear the birds and the wind in the trees,” Elsa said smiling. “We are very similar aren’t we?”

 

“Yes, yes we are. Except you’re a Queen and I’m only a Princess,” Rapunzel said, semi jokingly.

 

“Trust me, you don’t want to be Queen when you’re our age. So much responsibility. So much is resting on my shoulders. It gets lonely sometimes,” Elsa said, looking down.

 

“I know,” Rapunzel said understandingly. “Of course I don’t completely understand, but my father has been training me for the day when I do become Queen. But that’s hopefully not going to be for a long time. Even imagining all the responsibility of ruling a kingdom is exhausting.”

 

“It’s hard yes, but it is very rewarding. The smiles of the townspeople when they see me. The laughter and chatter of children as they ice skate on the ice rink I created. There are lots of great things about being Queen. But I just wish… I don’t know…” she drifted off.

 

Rapunzel stood up, wiped the paint off her hands and came and sat next to Elsa.

 

“I get what you mean,” Rapunzel said calmly. “You sometimes just wish you could be a normal person with a normal family and normal friends. I sometimes wish I wasn’t the lost Princess. People still ask me about it. I hear people talking behind my back. People stare at me on the street. Like they think I’m a goddess or something. It’s sometimes hard. But if I wasn’t the lost Princess; if I hadn’t gone through all the things I’ve been through, I wouldn’t be me.”

 

Elsa nodded, taking in everything her cousin was saying.

 

“And being Queen, being royalty, does not mean you have to be alone. I know we don’t know each other very well, but you seem like a very guarded person. Very reluctant to share your life with others. Which I understand; I’m a very private person too. But don’t be afraid to let someone in.”

 

A single tear went down Elsa’s cheek. She wasn’t sad. What Rapunzel said was just exactly what she needed to hear.

 

“Thank you,” Elsa said quietly.

 

Rapunzel squeezed her hand and then went back to painting. Elsa looked up at the view and wiped the tear off her face. Rapunzel had given her something to think about.

 

Reading on the balcony, watching Rapunzel’s careful brush strokes and the sounds of nature was very calming. Elsa took a deep breath and let all her worries disappear for a moment.


	7. Chapter 7

After Anna and Kristoff’s delicious dinner last night, vegetable roast with cornbread and gravy and chocolate pudding for desert, Elsa found it hard to get to sleep. She was thinking about what Rapunzel said. About not being afraid of letting someone in. She was thinking about Jack and rehearsing the best way to tell him who she really is.

 

_He’d understand, right?_ Elsa thought. _Will he? I’m not sure if he will._

 

The thought of him not understanding terrified her. What if he used her? What if he stole all her money and abused her ice powers? He said he was very fond of ice. She imagined Jack locking her up in a cell. Chaining up her hands and telling her he’s going to kill her and her sister and take everything they have.

 

Elsa rolled around in her bed uncomfortably. _No, Jack is not Hans. Get it together Elsa!_

 

It was true that not everyone was like Hans. But her experience with Hans had traumatised her. What he almost did did to her sister…

 

Elsa tried to calm down and just think about Jack as she knew him. He seemed nice. He seemed genuine. He liked her. Well, he liked Ellen. _But what if he doesn’t like the real me?_

 

These thoughts kept going through Elsa’s head but eventually at some early hour sleep overcame her.

 

When Elsa woke up her mind felt a bit clearer. Sleep always helps. She sat up and stretched her arms over her head. She noticed the sun coming through the window. But it wasn’t coming through quite at the place where it usually comes through when she gets up in the morning. Elsa’s heart sank.

 

She jumped up off the bed. Her clock? Where was her clock? She found it face down next to her bed. She picked it up and looked at the time. 9.10 am.

 

“No, no, no. I can’t have slept in,” she said to herself. She was supposed to get up two hours ago. When the alarm went off she must have knocked it off her bedside table and it must have turned off. She vaguely remembers hearing her alarm, but she was so tired because she hadn’t had much sleep. She must have just fallen back asleep.

 

Elsa ran and opened her curtains to let the sun in. She didn’t have much time until she was meant to meet Jack. Elsa briefly caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess, but not quite as messy as Anna’s in the morning. It still needed a lot of work though. She opened her door and ran downstairs.

 

“Morning sleepy head,” Anna said cheerfully. She was sitting at the dining table with Rapunzel and Eugene. Olaf and Pascal were on the floor, playing some sort of game. There were empty dishes all over the table. There was still a small amount of food left.

 

“Morning,” Elsa said sleepily.

 

“I came into your room earlier but you were fast asleep. I thought it was best if I didn’t wake you,” Anna said as she came over and hugged her sister.

 

“Sorry,” Elsa said, rubbing her eyes. “I was just exhausted.”

 

Anna gave a small laugh. “You never sleep in! You always give me a hard time when I do.”

 

“I know. I stayed up late doing some work and fell asleep,” Elsa lied. She didn’t feel good about lying to Anna, but in time she’d tell her the truth.

 

Elsa grabbed a bowl and served herself some breakfast. Oatmeal topped with fruit. She sat at the table. She figured she could spend a few minutes eating.

 

“You must have really been exhausted to sleep in this much,” Anna said as she poured Elsa a glass of orange juice.

 

Elsa nodded at Anna as a thank you. “I don’t remember the last time I slept in for more than five minutes!” Elsa exclaimed as she ate as fast as she could. “I actually have some work I need to finish up, so I probably won’t see you again until later today.”

 

“Oh,” Anna said disappointed. “I was hoping we could all go into town today to give a little tour to Rapunzel and Eugene.” Pascal ran across the floor and jumped onto Anna’s shoulder. He had his arms folded. “And Pascal of course,” she said with a laugh. “Our guests are only here for a few more days. I wanted us to do something together.”

 

Elsa slowed down eating. She felt guilty. She was hiding this secret from her sister. She was choosing this boy she barely knew over her family. She felt like crying.

 

Rapunzel reached over and touched her hand. “Elsa, it’s okay. I understand that you have a lot of work to do being a Queen. Anna, you’ve been a fantastic host for us and I would love for you to give us a tour of the town even if Elsa can’t come.”

 

Anna perked up a bit. “You’re right. I’m sorry Elsa. I just want us to hang out all the time like when we were kids, but we’re not kids anymore. You have a lot of responsibility. I understand that. If you weren’t Queen I would be and who knows what state this kingdom would be in then!”

 

Elsa gave a little laugh. “I am sorry Anna. I’ll try to get all my work done today and I promise tomorrow I’ll have the day completely free to do whatever you want.”

 

Anna reach over and hugged Elsa. “I love you Elsa.”

 

Elsa finished eating her breakfast and hurried back upstairs. She quickly told her guards she was going out and went to her room to get ready. She washed her face and made her hair look somewhat presentable. She changed out of her pyjamas and into a dark blue shirt and emerald green skirt. Her wardrobe was not very diverse. She didn’t get to wear casual clothes all that often and when she did, she seemed to wear only a certain colour palette. These colours were all she owned.

 

She put her shoes on and was about to leave, but she decided to bring the blue hat again. She pulled her ponytail through the hat and left.

 

Elsa half jogged, half walked quickly along the cliff face. She was running a little late. She made it to the town square and could see Jack waiting. She got butterflies in her stomach when she saw him.

 

When he noticed her he waved and made his way towards her. “I thought you didn’t want to bring attention to yourself,” he said, gesturing towards her hat.

 

Elsa looked down embarrassed. “You changed my mind.”

 

Jack smiled and grabbed her hand. “There’s somewhere I want to take you.”

 

“Umm, where?” she asked nervously as Jack began leading her somewhere.

 

He smirked as he looked at her. “It’s a secret. But don’t worry, it’s not some place in the middle of nowhere where I’m going to lock you up and keep you prisoner if that’s what you’re worried about.”

 

“Oh, that’s good to know,” Elsa said sarcastically. Although she was a bit worried. She barely knew him.

 

Jack sensed her nervousness. “In all seriousness, it’s nowhere dangerous. Although you might disagree…” he trailed off. “You’ll see.”

 

Elsa began to calm down. She saved Jack’s life a few days ago. He would not harm her. She was sure. Wasn’t she?

 

Elsa began to realise where they were going. They walked down some stairs and onto a beach. The same beach where she left him after he almost drowned. Elsa stopped and released her hand from his. Her heart began to race.

 

Jack turned to face her. “Ellen…”

 

“No,” she said sternly, shaking her head. “We’re not going back to the place where you almost drowned.”

 

“Ellen,” Jack said calmly. He tried to take her hand but she pulled it away. “We won’t go all the way, I promise. Just so we can see where it is. We won’t go any further. I just want to…” he trailed off again.

 

He was looking at Elsa with his big brown eyes and something about them made her feel calm. _He is not Hans,_ she tried to convince herself. She took in a deep breath and sighed.

 

“I promise I won’t put you any danger, okay?” He held out her hand to her. “Trust me?”

 

She reluctantly took his hand. He used his other hand to take his shoes off and carry them as they walked. She kept her eyes down and tried to not look out into the water. Then Jack stopped. She looked up. They were at the point where the beach ends and the rocks begin.

 

“Okay, we’re just going to walk out onto the rocks over there,” Jack pointed. “It’s only a few steps. It’s close to the beach. We won’t go any further, I promise.”

 

Elsa nodded but didn’t say anything. They walked over a few rocks and sat down leaning against a little indent of the cliff. He placed his shoes next to him and looked out at the water. She was looking at his feet. They were very dirty, but he didn’t seem to mind. Elsa followed his gaze. There it was. The place where Jack almost drowned. The tree trunk that she’d snapped the tree off was still standing. The water was splashing up over the rocks.

 

“Why did you want to come back here,” Elsa asked, after minutes of silence.

 

Jack turned to her. “I just…” he said looking up, thinking. “I don’t know how to begin. But there’s nothing to be afraid of, okay?”

 

Elsa gave a small nod. “Okay.”

 

“Well,” he began. “After we parted ways yesterday, I decided to come back here. I went all the way over to the rocks…”

 

“You went back there??” Elsa exclaimed, interrupting him.

 

“Hey, I’m fine,” he said. “I’m completely fine. I didn’t slip. I didn’t drown. I’m fine.”

 

“It was still a stupid thing to do,” Elsa said, her eyebrows raised.

 

“Well, stupid is my middle name,” Jack joked, laughing. “Anyway, I was over on the rocks. The branch you used to save me had been caught on some of them. I could see the end of the branch. It had been snapped off. So I went over to the tree, but there was no tree. The branch _was_ the tree. A very small tree. I thought, how did you manage to snap a whole tree off? And then I saw the weirdest thing…”

 

Elsa’s heart stopped. Her face went completely red and she felt like she was going to faint. She had her hands on the rocks next to her, ready to bounce up and flee at any moment. That was what she always did. She ran away from her problems.

 

Jack noticed her get tense. He put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. There’s nothing to worry about.”

 

“No. I’m not…” Elsa stuttered, closing her eyes, trying to wake up from what she thought was a dream.

 

“Let me finish. I promise it’s okay,” Jack said calmly.

 

Elsa took some deep breaths and calmed down. She could run away. She could run back to the castle and forget Jack ever existed. But he did exist. He’d figured out who she was and that terrified her. It terrified her more than anything. But she decided to stay and listen to what he had to say.

 

“The tree trunk where the tree had been snapped off, I went over to it. And there was ice on it. Which was odd. It’s the middle of Summer. It hasn’t been snowing nor has there been cold mornings and frost. It was the weirdest thing I’d ever seen.”

 

Elsa looked up at him, trying to read him. Did he want to harm her? Was him figuring this out a good or a bad thing?

 

“I went to sleep that night thinking about it. Trying to figure out how it’s possible. And I think I figured it out. The rocks and tree are shaded from the sun for most of the day. They do get a little bit of sun in the evenings, but that sun isn’t that hot. It had been one day since you rescued me. If that ice had only shown up 24 hours before then it’s entirely possible that it hadn’t melted yet.”

 

Elsa was look at him. Her breathing slowed and she didn’t feel scared anymore. She’d stayed up all night trying to think of how to tell him, or even if she wanted to. But now she didn’t have to because he’d figured it out on his own.

 

“I tried to think of how ice would have come to be on that tree,” Jack continued. “The only thing I could think of was if someone had ice powers like the Queen, and had used them on the trunk. But that was ridiculous. It’s such a rare power. I doubt anyone else has it. But it would explain how you’d managed to snap a small tree off a trunk. Then I started thinking about you. How you love to wear the colour blue and have beautiful long, blonde hair. And your name, Ellen, which is a very similar name to Elsa. When I got home, I looked at photographs of the Queen and the similarities were uncanny. It all came into place.”

 

Elsa looked down, embarrassed.

 

“You’re Queen Elsa,” Jack said finally. “Or else you’re her twin or doppleganger.”

 

Elsa started to cry a bit. Not because she was sad, mostly because she was relieved. She was nodding her head fast.

 

“You are Queen Elsa, aren’t you?”

 

“Yes,” Elsa said through a thin stream of tears. “Yes, I am Queen Elsa. I stayed up all night trying to think of ways to tell you. I wanted you to know. I’m sorry, I just wanted to be a normal girl, you know? I was worried that you're treat me differently if you knew the truth.”

 

“I feel so embarrassed about what I said yesterday. The way I talked about you,” Jack said, looking slightly self conscious.

 

Elsa gave a small laugh and wiped her tears away. “It’s okay.”

 

“And climbing the pole to look over into your home!! What was I thinking?” Jack said as he threw his arms up. “I was very embarrassing yesterday. I’m sorry.”

 

Elsa looked down and felt like she wanted to cry again but she held the tears back. “Do you…” she stuttered. “Do you think of me any differently, now that you know who I am?”

 

“Of course not,” Jack said reassuringly. “You’re still the beautiful girl who saved my life two days ago. If anything, I’m honoured that the Queen of Arendelle wants to hang out with me.”

 

Tears fell down Elsa’s face. That is exactly what she dreamed would happen. All of her doubts went away.

 

Jack rubbed her back. “It’s okay.”

 

Elsa put her head up and gave a laugh. “What am I doing? I’m a Queen. I’m not supposed to cry like this. And in front of someone I barely know!”

 

“I’ll admit, I’ve always thought of royalty as people above everyone else. But you, crying in front of me, shows that you’re just like everyone else,” he said. “I like it.”

 

“I just wanted to be normal for once you know? I wanted to go out by myself without any guards. Without people coming up to me every minute and staring at me. I just wanted to be free. That’s why I had my disguise. Which obviously was not very good because you figured it out.”

 

“You fooled me at first I’ll admit,” Jack laughed. “I get it. It must be tiring being Queen.”

 

“Yes, it is,” Elsa sighed. “I slept in today but I was meant to do some duties this morning. I’ll have to stay up and do them tonight.”

 

“Oh no, I’ve made Queen Elsa into a bad Queen! I’m sorry,” he said jokingly. “Forgive me Arendelle!”

 

Elsa pushed him playfully. She had a huge smile on her face.

 

Jack expression softened. “Hey, do you want to go get something to eat?”

 

Elsa nodded. Jack stood, took her hand and pulled her up. They wandered back into town and got a burrito each from a stand at the markets. They sat underneath a tree and ate. She dropped some food on her skirt and it left a stain. But she didn’t even worry. Usually she was very worried when anything gets a stain but she was having such a great time that it didn’t bother her.

 

They talked for hours. Then Jack took her to his house. If you would even call it a house. It was quite a trek up some hills to get there. His house was this little tent on the top of a cliff. There was great view from up there. You could see the town down below. You could also see the fjord and castle.

 

“It was this old abandoned horse stable I think,” Jack explained. “I put some sheets over to make it enclosed.”

 

He took her inside. There was a small, thin mattress on the floor with sheets messily on top. There was a chair in the back corner, a bag full of clothes and small table with a big jug of water and a bag of food on top. It was very small. But quite inviting too.

 

“This is…” Elsa began.

 

“I know it’s not castle or anything,” Jack said, noticing her reluctance to say what she thought. “But it feels like home for me at this moment in time.”

 

“No, I love it. It’s very cosy. It reminds me of when Anna and I were kids and used to put sheets over the dining table to make a fort.” Elsa turned, taking in the whole room.

 

“My sister and I used to do that too,” Jack exclaimed. He took her hand and led her outside again. There was a fire pit that was lightly smoking. “This is where I cook all my food. I have a small amount of food left but I need to restock. I usually go buy supplies at the markets every couple of days. I could cook you a meal sometime if you’d like.”

 

“I’d like that,” Elsa smiled.

 

Jack got a rug from inside his house and lay it on the grass. They sat down and looked out at the view. It was breathtaking.

 

Elsa looked at Jack. “I want to take you to the castle. I want to show you my life. But I haven’t told Anna about you yet.”

 

“It’s okay, whenever you’re ready,” Jack said, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

 

“Our cousins are here at the moment. Rapunzel, who is the lost…”

 

“Princess,” Jack finished. “I know all about her! Her story is incredible! Wow she’s here, in the same city as me!”

 

Elsa smiled. “Yes, her and her husband, Eugene, are here. Them being here made me feel a little lonely. They all have someone. Rapunzel and Eugene. Anna has her boyfriend, Kristoff. And Olaf made friends with Rapunzel’s chameleon. I just felt a bit left out.”

 

“Olaf?” Jack asked. “Is he the snow man? I thought he was just a myth. He’s actually real?”

 

“Yes, he’s real. You’ll love him! And I’m sure he’ll love you!”

 

“Wow,” Jack said. “You created him right?”

 

Elsa nodded.

 

“You are incredible,” he said, which made Elsa blush.

 

Elsa leaned forward and used her ice powers to make some ice and sprinkled it on the ground. It glittered in the sunlight.

 

Jack leaned forward and touched it. “Incredible,” he breathed.

 

The sun would be setting soon. They’d been together for the whole day again. “I better get going,” Elsa said as she stood up.

 

“Of course. I’ll walk you home,” Jack got up and took her hand.

 

They walked back down the hills and through the markets, which were packing up for the day. When they walked along the cliff face past where Jack almost drowned, he looked over, a nervous look on his face.

 

When they got to the bushes where the hidden gate was, Elsa stopped.

 

“This is where you get into your house?” Jack asked quizzically.

 

 “There’s a secret door behind the bushes,” Elsa replied. “It was put in for emergencies. It’s not easy to find.”

 

“Oh cool!” He pushed some of the bushes aside and found the gate. “Well, I guess this is goodbye for now.”

 

“I promised Anna I’d be free tomorrow, but we can see each other the day after. Same time same place?”

 

“Yes,” Jack said, hugging her. He pulled back and then he did the most unexpected thing. He kissed her.

 

Electricity soared through Elsa and all her worries melted away. She felt unstoppable. She felt free. She felt normal. She’d never kissed anyone before. This was her first kiss. Growing up the way she did, it just never happened. She’d been isolated and alone most of her life.

 

Their lips were connected and it felt like something other worldly. It felt like a dream. This was a dream that she wished she could never wake up from.


	8. Chapter 8

Elsa stayed up late working on things she missed out on doing because she slept in. She got a few hours of sleep, because then she had to get up early and do all her duties so she would have the rest of the day free.

 

“And done,” Elsa said to herself as she finished the last thing she needed to do. She jumped out of the chair and went and got ready for the day. She dressed in a casual light green and blue coloured sundress.

 

Elsa was the first one downstairs for breakfast. She was starving from working so hard since last night. She loaded up on pancakes and fruit. She was just grabbing some seconds when Anna came flying down the stairs.

 

“Elsa, you’re up!” she exclaimed when she saw Elsa at the dining table.

 

“Sure am, Anna,” Elsa said happily, wiping away the pancake syrup from her mouth. “And I’m ready for whatever you have planned today!”

 

Anna skipped her way over to the table and grabbed a plate and twirled it around her hand. “Yay! I was thinking we could go down to the beach as it’s such a lovely day today,” she said as she served herself some food. “And then maybe we could go out for ice cream. And then since Rapunzel and Eugene are leaving tomorrow I was hoping Rapunzel could do a painting of all of us!”

 

“Sounds great!” Elsa said between mouthfuls of food.

 

Once Anna had all her food, she settled down next to Elsa and started eating. “Great! Hopefully the others will be up soon and we can get this _awesome_ day started!”

 

After everyone was up, they ventured through the front gates in a carriage with their guards and went down to the beach. The guards stood up the top to keep the common people away and give them some privacy.

 

Elsa and Anna went swimming together, just like they used to when they were kids. Kristoff tried to teach Eugene how to surf, which was semi successful. Up until he got dumped pretty badly by a wave.

 

“Eugene!” Rapunzel said, running towards him.

 

He was fine. He just swallowed a bit of water, but he coughed it all up and was completely fine. “I think…” he said, trying to stand up. “I think I’ve done enough surfing for today. I’ll just go sit over on the sand.”

 

Rapunzel helped him walk over to the sand and got him in a comfortable spot.

 

“Is he okay,” Elsa asked when Rapunzel got back over to the water.

 

She nodded back at him. “I think he’s fine.”

 

Elsa looked over at him, all alone. “Maybe I’ll go sit with him for a bit.”

 

Rapunzel nodded. Then she went back to Olaf and Pascal. She was helping Olaf float in the water on a surfboard. He’d start off lying on his stomach while Rapunzel held the surfboard still. Then she’d move the surfboard in wave motions and Olaf would try to stand up and feel like he’s actually surfing.

 

“I’m surfing Pascal,” he said to Pascal, who was hanging on tight to the front of the surfboard.

 

“Great job Olaf!” Rapunzel said, yelling over the sound of the water. “And you too Pascal!”

 

Elsa watched them for a moment, a huge smile on her face, then she went over to give Eugene some company.

 

She sat down next to Eugene. “Hey, how are you doing?”

 

“Well,” Eugene said, looking at her. “I learnt how to surf today. And took a pretty good dumping. But I’d say it’s been good.”

 

Elsa gave a laugh. “Sorry I haven’t been around much while you've been here.”

 

“It’s all good. We understand that you’re busy. It’s been so great to finally meet you!”

 

She smiled at him. “It’s been great to meet you too. Sometimes it gets lonely with just Anna and I, so it’s great to have company.”

 

“And you’ll have to come visit Corona someday.”

 

“Of course,” she said, a huge smile still on her face. “We should start planning a visit very soon.”

 

Elsa and Eugene spent a little while chatting. The first real conversation they’d had. It was nice getting to know him.

 

After a while Rapunzel came running over to them, breathing heavily. “You feeling better Eugene?”

 

He nodded. “Yeah, feeling a lot better.”

 

“Good,” she said, between deep breaths. “Would you mind going and helping Olaf and Pascal out?”

 

“Sure,” he said standing up, giving Rapunzel a kiss on the cheek and then running off towards the water.

 

Rapunzel sat down next to Elsa. “Who knew surfing could be so tiring when you’re not even the one doing the surfing.”

 

Elsa smiled. “Thank you, Olaf really appreciates what you did for him.”

 

“Happy to help. He’s adorable,” she said, taking a drink of water.

 

“Hey, Rapunzel,” Elsa said, nervously. “I thought about what you said the other day, and… I do want to let someone in.”

 

Rapunzel looks at her, intrigued.

 

“I may have met…” Elsa said, stumbling. “I may have met this guy…”

 

Rapunzel gives her a huge smile. “Really?”

 

Elsa nodded nervously. “He’s really nice, and I want to let him be a part of my life. But I’m nervous to tell Anna. And also, I’m in the public eye and everyone will know and start rumours and…”

 

“Stop,” Rapunzel said, interrupting her. “Don't worry about any of that. Everything will work out. There is no reason to be afraid. Anna will understand. The townspeople will understand. I’m sure they’ll be overjoyed to have someone who could be a potential King.”

 

Elsa nodded, understanding. “What if he doesn’t want that though? What if he doesn’t want to be in the public eye? I don’t want to be a problem for him.”

 

“You’ll know if he's the right guy. You’re smart. No offence to Anna, but she was young and naive when she got engaged. You’re mature, and you have such a kind heart. Anyone would be stupid to take advantage of that.”

 

Elsa felt some tears coming on. “Thank you.”

 

Rapunzel gave her a hug. “Now c’mon, lets make the most of our final day here.”

 

Rapunzel and Elsa ran back over to the water to join the others. They spent a while just having the time of their lives on the beach. Bonding with each other. Making memories they’ll remember forever.

 

When they got back to castle, Rapunzel arranged them all outside on the balcony and started to sketch them. They were supposed to stay still, but that was difficult, especially for Olaf and Pascal. So Rapunzel’s painting was mostly guess work. Elsa sat outside and chatted to her while she painted, admiring her talent.

 

Eugene, Anna and Kristoff chatted and played board games. Olaf and Pascal played games together, and Olaf also read Pascal some stories.

 

Rapunzel’s finished painting was beautiful. The colours were so vibrant and beautiful, and it perfectly captured their final day together. They were all smiling and looking at the camera, except for Olaf who was looking down at Pascal. It was the perfect parting gift. Elsa decided to hang it in the entranceway so that it’s the first thing you see when you come inside.

 

Their final dinner together was full of laughter and also some tears, because Rapunzel and Eugene were leaving tomorrow.

 

If you’d seen the castle in the distance that night, you would have seen it lit up in beautiful Summery colours. The castle only lights up when there is a celebration going on. For Elsa, Anna and Olaf, the final night with the cousins that they’d had the time of their lives with certainly felt like a celebration.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning they had to say goodbye to Rapunzel, Eugene and Pascal. There were tears. Mostly from Olaf. He did not want to to be separated from Pascal.

 

“Olaf,” Elsa said calmly. “You have to say goodbye to Pascal now.”

 

Olaf had been crying tears of snowflakes, which had melted into a puddle on the floor. “But why can’t he stay Elsa?” he said through tears.

 

“I’m sorry Olaf but Pascal needs to go home.” She took Pascal off Olaf’s carrot nose and held him on her palm out to Olaf.

 

Olaf sniffled and moved his face up to Pascal, who hugged his cheek. “Goodbye Pascal,” he said sadly.

 

Elsa passed Pascal back to Rapunzel, and then patted Olaf on the head, comforting him.

 

They all said their goodbyes. It had been wonderful having guests saying with them. None of them wanted it to be over.

 

Elsa said goodbye to Rapunzel last. They embraced in a hug. “Goodbye Rapunzel, it’s been great having you stay with us.”

 

“Goodbye cousin Elsa,” Rapunzel said, holding her tight. “Don’t be afraid to let someone in. To let the loneliness go.”

 

When they broke apart from their hug Elsa nodded, thanking her.

 

They all watched as Rapunzel, Eugene and Pascal left in a carriage. They waved and yelled ‘goodbye’ as they watched them leave.

 

Olaf was standing there in a pool of tears. “Goodbye Pascal!” he yelled sadly.

 

They came back inside when the gates were closed. Elsa looked at the time. Almost time for her to go meet Jack. She thought back to what Rapunzel said to her.

 

_Don’t be afraid to let the loneliness go._

 

This was the perfect time. She didn’t want to be lonely anymore. She wanted to let someone into her life. Now was the perfect time to tell Anna. To tell her everything and invite Jack to the castle.

 

Anna was walking slowly back upstairs to her room.

 

“Anna,” Elsa yelled up to her.

 

She looked down at her sister. “Yes Elsa?”

 

“Umm,” she started nervously. “I need to talk to you about something.”

 

Anna jumped back down to the bottom of the stairs and sat down on the bottom step, inviting Elsa to sit next to her.

 

Elsa went and joined her. “So, these past few days I haven’t been completely honest with you. I actually left the castle by myself, with no guards. I just wanted some time alone. Some time to be normal.”

 

Anna was slightly shocked, her eyes wide. “You left the castle without me?”

 

“I’m sorry Anna, I just wanted to be alone. It’s so tiring being a Queen. Constantly having people asking you things and coming up to you,” she said sadly.

 

Anna put her hand on her shoulder. “Oh Elsa, I’m not upset at all. It’s just, you can tell me anything you know?”

 

Elsa sniffled. “I know. I’m sorry. That’s not all. I may have met a guy…”

 

Anna jumped, and practically screamed. “YOU MET A GUY?!!? TELL ME EVERYTHING!!!”

 

“Shhh, calm down Anna. He’s really nice, and sweet, and just…” she said trailing off, her face turning red.

 

“Oh Elsa,” she said, hugging her sister. “I’m so happy for you. You deserve every inch of happiness in the world.”

 

“You’re not mad?” Elsa asked, relieved.

 

“Oh not at all! I’m so happy for you. I can imagine Kristoff and I going on double dates with you two. It’ll be amazing!” she said, throwing her arms up in the air.

 

“Slow down, Anna. It’s not at that stage yet,” she said laughing.

 

“Oh, yes, right, sorry. I’m getting too far ahead of my self. So…” she said, hopeful. “When can I meet him?”

 

“Well, I’m supposed to go meet him soon,” Elsa said, her voice full of a new found confidence. “Would it be okay if I invite him to the castle?”

 

Anna squeaks. “YES! I know it’s only been a few minutes since our cousins left, but I’m already missing them. I would love to meet this _guy_.”

 

“Jack is his name,” Elsa said, a huge smile on her face. Even just saying his name gave her butterflies.

 

“Jack,” Anna said thoughtfully. “Elsa and Jack. Such a good match of names!”

 

Elsa looked down, her cheeks red.

 

“Jelsa! That could be your couple name!” Anna exclaimed, her voice full of hope.

 

“Anna…” Elsa said sternly, but with a smile still on her face.

 

“Right,” Anna said, calming down. “You better go get him and bring him here. I can’t wait to meet him!”

 

Elsa went and got ready. She put her teal skirt and a floral top on, and tied her hair up in a ponytail. She left out the back entrance.

 

She walked along the cliff face and when the town square was in sight, she could see him waiting. He was facing the other way. Elsa ran towards him and he jumped when he turned around. Elsa was in very good spirits today.

 

“Hey,” Jack said, surprised. “You’re in a good mood today!”

 

Elsa nodded, smiling. “Yes, I am. I have somewhere I want to take you.”

 

“Okay,” Jack said as Elsa took his hand and started dragging him along.

 

They walked through the markets and town square towards the castle. She dragged him along the bridge to the castle. Elsa let go of his hand and started running towards the gates. He ran after her.

 

“What’s going on?” Jack yelled as he tried to catch up to her. “Why are you running?”

 

Elsa stopped when they got to the gates. She turned to look at Jack and smiled at him. She turned back and reached for the front lock and put the code in. The gates started to open. Elsa pulled the hair tie out of her hair and shook her hair out.

 

Jack was staring at her, his mouth wide open. “No way.”

 

Elsa reached back and took his hand. “C’mon.”

 

They walked through the gates, and Jack watched the gates close behind them. The guards nodded at her and said, “Queen Elsa.”

 

Elsa led Jack towards the castle.

 

Jack is looking around, taking it all him, his face in a state of shock. “This is where the ice rink goes?” He let go of Elsa’s hand and ran around the courtyard.

 

Elsa watched him with an amused look on her face. She had a smile on her face so big her cheeks were hurting.

 

“This is all so incredible!” Jack said, taking everything in. He ran back over to Elsa and took her hand. “Sorry, I’ll stop.”

 

“No,” Elsa said. “You can look around as much as you want. I’ll take you inside to meet Anna. I’ve got some work to do so I’ll ask her to show you around.”

 

Jack squeezed her hand. “Thank you Elsa. Thank you so much. This is a dream come true.” He kissed the top of their head as they walked.

 

Jack was in awe of the details of the front door, and of all the sculptures and architecture. It all made Elsa so happy.

 

As soon as they came inside, Anna came running towards them.

 

“Jack,” she yelled enthusiastically, embracing him in a hug. “It’s so great to meet you!”

 

Elsa raised her eyes at Jack. He raised them back at her.

 

“I'm Anna,” she said, letting go of him.

 

“It’s nice to finally meet you Anna,” Jack said, a charming smile on his face. It made Elsa go crazy.

 

“Finally?” Anna asked. “How long have you two known each other?”

 

“Only a few days Anna,” Elsa replied.

 

“A few days too long if you ask me,” Anna said, grinning at them. “You should have introduced me straight away!”

 

Just then, Olaf walked into the room. He was still crying snowflakes and leaving a trail of puddles behind him. “Pascal,” he was crying.

 

“Olaf!” Anna said cheerfully. “There is no need to be sad. You’ll see Pascal again. And now we have another guest. Come and meet Jack!” Anna grabbed Olaf by the arm and dragged him over.

 

“Incredible,” Jack breathed, kneeling down to the same level as Olaf. “Hi Olaf, I’m Jack. It's great to meet you.”

 

Olaf was looking down, tears still falling out of his eyes. He sadly looked up. “I’m sad. My friend Pascal left.”

 

“Oh, that sucks,” Jack said, reaching out and taking one of Olaf’s stick arms. “I can be your friend if you like?”

 

Olaf looked into Jack’s eyes and stopped crying, his eyes lighting up. “Really?”

 

Jack nodded. “I would love to be your friend.”

 

Olaf jumped up, throwing snow all over Jack. “Yay! A new friend!”

 

Jack got up and shook the snow off himself.

 

Elsa took Jack’s hand. “Anna, would you and Olaf mind showing Jack around the castle? I’ve just got to take him upstairs for a second but then I’ve got to do some work. It’d be great if you could show him around.”

 

“Of course,” Anna said happily. Elsa could tell she was really enjoying this.

 

Olaf had started running around the room yelling ‘new friend’ over and over.

 

Elsa led Jack upstairs to her bedroom. She closed the door behind them. “My family is a little crazy I know.”

 

Jack looked around her room and noticed the scarf hanging over her mirror. He took it off. “I think everyones family is a little crazy. Anna seems sweet and Olaf is amazing.”

 

Elsa smiled at him. “So, I’ve got some work to do now but Anna and Olaf will should you around and I’ll come back and see you soon okay?”

 

Jack nodded, a smile on his face. “Sure.”

 

He walked towards her and placed the scarf on her head. She turned around and he tied the scarf around her hair, like a headband. Elsa shivered whenever his fingers touched her skin. He turned her towards the mirror.

 

“Thank you,” Elsa said, breathless. How can someone tying a scarf around her head make her feel that way?

 

“I’ll see you a bit later then,” Jack said, turning her to face him. He leant down and pressed his lips to hers.

 

She closed her eyes and sank into the kiss, her heart beating fast. She was even more breathless after that. She was too weak to say anything to Jack before he left.

 

Elsa collapsed down onto her bed. She stared up at the ceiling, a stupid smile on her face. She never wanted this feeling to end.


	10. Chapter 10

Elsa and Jack spent everyday together for the next few weeks. He would come over in the mornings and hang out with Anna and Olaf while Elsa worked. When Elsa was done they would spend the rest of the day together. They’d talk and talk, and got to know each other very well. Elsa was reluctant to open up at first, but after getting comfortable with Jack she wasn’t afraid to open up anymore. She told him everything. And he didn’t judge her for any of it.

 

Olaf was sad for a few days after Pascal left, but he really took a liking to Jack and seemed to completely forget about Pascal.

 

Anna loved Jack. She would ask Elsa for all the details about their relationship and kept telling her how lucky she was to have found him. “How lucky are we? We’ve both found our soul mates! Everything is going to turn out alright,” she said one day, giving Elsa a big hug. _I think everything will be alright_ , she smiled to herself.

 

Kristoff and Jack became really good friends too. Elsa would sometimes hear them talking about how crazy their girlfriends are, in a good way of course. Hearing Jack call her his girlfriend gave Elsa goosebumps. _Girlfriend_ , she thought. _I’m someones girlfriend._

 

Everyday when he left he gave her a kiss and it always left her breathless. She would always sleep well after that, dreaming about his lips.

 

Like Jack promised, one day he cooked Elsa dinner at his place. They left the castle after he’d spent the whole day there, and went to his house. Well, his tent. When they got up the hill he lit some candles as a walkway up to his tent.

 

Jack lay a rug on the grass overlooking Arendelle. “You just relax and I’ll cook dinner,” he said, kissing her forehead.

 

Elsa looked out at the view and let the sun wash over her. _How is everything so perfect?_

 

Jack cooked spaghetti bolognese for dinner. They ate their dinner as the sun was setting. Delicious food with a beautiful view. Some of the sauce splattered onto Elsa’s top, but she didn’t care. Jack made her not care about the little things. When she was with him nothing else mattered.

 

After they finished eating, they sat there and chatted until it was pitch black. Elsa didn’t want this night to end. She wanted to stay here forever.

 

“Well, I should probably take you home,” Jack said, pushing himself up off the rug.

Elsa sighed, laying down. “Yeah, although I don’t want to.”

 

Jack held out his hand to her. “I know. But what kind of person would I be if I let Queen Elsa of Arendelle sleep on a dirty rug on the edge of a cliff.”

 

She smiled at him. “Well, if my guards found out they’d probably kill you.”

 

He smirked. “Exactly what I’m worried about.”

 

Elsa grabbed his hand and let him pull her up. He kissed her right then, the light from the candles illuminating his face and making him look like an angel.

 

They walked back to the castle, a candle their only source of light. They went to the front gates this time. It was too dark to find the back gate.

 

When they got to the front gates, Jack kissed her again. “Goodnight my Queen,” he said, a smile on his face.

 

Elsa didn’t want to let go of him. His hands were warm and comforting and she didn’t want him to leave. “Do you want to stay?” she said, partly regretting it the moment it came out of her mouth.

 

Elsa had been reluctant to let him stay over. First off, she didn’t think it was very acceptable for a Queen to let her boyfriend stay over. That seemed a bit unprofessional. Her parents would probably not allow it if they were still alive. But mostly, she was afraid of what might happen if he stayed over. She was very inexperienced with boys and didn’t know if she’d be able to stop herself from doing things with Jack. But at this moment she felt confident and knew that this is what she wanted. She wanted Jack to stay over. She wanted him close to her tonight.

 

"Are you sure?” he asked, his eyes meeting hers.

 

Elsa nodded, sure of herself. “I’m sure. I don’t want you walking home when it’s this dark anyway.”

 

Jack nodded, smiling. “Only if you’re completely sure.”

 

“I am,” she said, leading him towards the castle. She had never been this sure of anything in her life.

 

When they got inside, Elsa led Jack up to her room. She went to the bathroom to get changed into her night clothes, and when she came back Jack was sitting on the edge of her bed, his shoes kicked off and only wearing shorts. He was shirtless.

 

Elsa froze. She’d never been with a guy who was shirtless before. Her heart started beating fast and her stomach was full of butterflies. She shyly walked over and sat next to him. _I’m going to make a fool of myself._

 

Jack reached up to her face and tucked some hair behind her ear. “You’re beautiful, you know that?” He was looking at her the way someone looks at a diamond or a rainbow, or something so beautiful it’s otherworldly.

 

Elsa blushed. She didn't know how to reply to that. She put her hand on his bare chest and exhaled. It was hard and strong and she wanted it to protect her.

 

They made out on her bed for a while, and then lay there talking for most of the night. They could talk about anything and everything for hours. Even talking about the most boring subject was interesting with Jack. _I will never get bored of this_ , she thought. _I will never get bored of him._

 

Eventually, sleep overcame them. Elsa could feel his heart beating next to hers and his warmth radiate onto her. They slept next to each other on her bed. And that was all they did.

 

In the morning, Elsa blinked the sleep out of her eyes and saw Jack staring back at her.

 

“Good morning," he said, a big beautiful smile on his face. _How can he be so beautiful when he’s just woken up?_

 

“Good morning,” she said, her voice croaky from sleep.

 

Jack reached his hand up and cupped her cheek. He pulled her into him and pressed his lips against hers.

 

Elsa closed her eyes and let herself fall into the moment. She could live like this forever. She didn’t want this to ever end. She wanted him forever. She couldn’t imagine her life without him in it.

 

“Hey,” Elsa said when their kiss was over. “How would you feel about being a King?”

 

Jack smiled, the biggest she’d ever seen him smile. “Queen Elsa and King Jack,” he said, his voice full of happiness. “Now that would be something.”


	11. Chapter 11

The first snowflake of Winter arrived and the ground started to turn white. It was time for Jack to go home. He had to go home to his family.

 

“I wish you could stay,” Elsa said, sadly. She’d just woken up and was lying on her bed.

 

Jack had stayed the night again. It had become a regular occurrence. She watched him get dressed.

 

He looked at her sadly. “I know. I wish I could stay, but I promised my sister I’d come back and spend Winter with her. It’s her favourite time of year.” He walked over and kissed her on the lips.

 

“I know, but I just don't want you to leave,” she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him down onto the bed.

 

Jack sighed. “I know, I don’t want to leave either. But I’ll come back. We’ll see each other again soon, I promise.”

 

Elsa nodded and ran her hands trough his dark messy hair. One of her favourite things about him was his hair. It was so soft, and it never sat the same way. It always looked slightly different.

 

“I’ll stay until you’ve created the ice rink and we’ve gone ice skating, but I have to go after that,” he said, touching her cheek.

 

Elsa nodded, closing her eyes. Today, Winter had officially arrived. Today was the day she needed to create the ice rink. The townspeople were counting her. Everyone was waiting on her. She wanted to just stay in bed all day and spend Jack’s last day with him, but she had things to do.

 

Elsa spent the day creating the ice rink. She could only do segments at a time as it exhausted her. Using her powers to turn the whole courtyard into an ice rink was very exhausting.

 

She needed to take another break. She sat down on a bench. She was breathing heavily. About a quarter of the ice rink was done.

 

Jack came over and sat down next to her, carrying a tray. “I come bearing food and drink,” he announced.

 

Elsa smiled at him and took a sandwich off the tray. “Thank you. I still have a lot to do,” she said between bites. “It’s just so exhausting.”

 

Jack looked around, marvelling at what she’d done so far. “I can only imagine. It’s incredible what you do.” He took a sandwich too and started eating it.

 

Elsa relaxed and tried to recover so she could finish. She grabbed a glass of water and chugged it down. “Well, I better get back to work. Thanks for the food.” She gave Jack a kiss and went back to creating the rink.

 

Just as the sun was about to set, Elsa finished creating the ice rink. She was exhausted. But it looked amazing. She’d frozen the fountains in the middle of the courtyard in the shape of elegant sculptures. She’d also created sculptures around the castle surrounding the courtyard. She looked back and admired at her work. Sometimes she couldn’t believe what she was capable of.

 

Elsa went inside the castle and found Jack busy packing up his bags. Elsa conjured up some snowflakes in her hands and sprinkled them over him. He shook his head when he felt the cold snow.

 

"It's done!” Elsa beamed at him and held out her hand. “Would you like to go ice skating?”

 

Jack brushed his fingers through his hair, getting rid of the snow. He jumped up and picked up Elsa and twirled her around.

 

Elsa smiled down at him. “I take that as a yes.”

 

“A million times yes,” he said, kissing her slowly.

 

They got their ice skates on and went out into the courtyard. You’d think because of Elsa’s ice abilities, she’d be an expert at ice skating but that was not the case. She’s not bad, but Jack was a million times better. She stumbled but Jack firmly held her hand and lead her.

 

“Woah, careful,” Jack said, watching her as they glided across the ice.

 

“I’m fine,” she said, nervously. “It’s been a while.”

 

Jack took both her hands so that he was gliding backwards and she was facing forwards. Once she had her footing he let go of one hand and they skated along together.

 

“This is incredible,” he said, looking around at the ice rink. “The ice is so smooth and even, and the details on the fountains are incredible. I can’t believe you created this with your own hands.”

 

Elsa blushed. “Thank you.”

 

Jack guided them along the ice, skating around in a big loop between the two fountains. “It’s beautiful. But not as beautiful as you,” he said, meeting her eyes.

 

Elsa looked down, embarrassed. _Such a cheesy thing to say but he makes it sound so perfect._

 

“Mary would love this!” He started skating faster.

 

“You’ll have to bring her someday.” She wasn’t afraid. She trusted him.

 

“Of course I will!” he said, guiding her in a different direction.

 

For Jack, skating looked to effortless. He just leant the way he wanted to go and his body would move there with no issues. Elsa admired his careful movements. For her, it wasn’t so easy. She fumbled quite a few times.

 

The sun was setting, the orange colours of the sky reflecting on the ice. Jack slowed down and grabbed her other hand.

 

“Trust me,” he whispered to her. He put his hands around her waist and they started turning in circles. He then picked her up as they were spinning.

 

Elsa nervously laughed, but she trusted Jack completely. Her head was starting to get dizzy but she kept her gaze on Jack and she felt fine.

 

As they started to slow down, Jack put her down, keeping his hands on her waist. Elsa couldn’t keep her eyes off him. She was incapable of turning away. _What have you done to me?_

 

When they came to a stop, Jack put his forehead against Elsa’s. His breathing was heavy and she could see his breath because of the cold. She could feel his heart beating fast.

 

"Elsa," he said, almost breathless. “I love you.”

 

Without thinking, Elsa immediately replied. “I love you too.”

 

She didn’t need to think, she already knew in her heart that it was true. That this dark haired boy who she saved from drowning a few months ago was the person she wanted to be with forever. She didn’t need to process what he’d said because a part of her already knew. His actions gave it away.

 

Jack smiled the biggest smile Elsa had ever seen and he kissed her. She kissed him back and she didn’t want it to end. She didn’t want to come up for air; she wanted to drown in this kiss. It was everything she ever wanted.

 

They stayed there until the sun completely set. The orange and pink sky reflected on the ice while the two lovers embraced. It looked like a painting. It didn’t look real. But the best part is that it was. Everything about it was real.

 

Saying goodbye to Jack that night was hard. She held onto him and tried to stop him from leaving. But he had to go. He promised he’d write. He promised he’d think about her everyday. She promised the same.

 

Elsa watched the ship leave the harbour, tears falling from her eyes. She stood there and watched until the ship became an invisible speck in the distance. Until the love of her life was out of sight and it felt like a part of her was gone.


	12. Chapter 12

Elsa found life without Jack hard. Even though she’d only known him for a few months and lived most of her life without him, somehow she didn’t seem to feel full anymore.

 

She managed. She had lots of work to do and it was good to have no distractions. But she started to feel lonely again. Anna would try to help. She would spend lots of time with Elsa and try to make it feel better, but Elsa wished she had someone who was there for her, and only her, day and night. And Jack was that person. But he wasn’t here with her now.

 

They wrote each other letters, which was great. But letters sometimes took weeks to send and arrive. It wasn’t the same as seeing him everyday.

 

Months went by in a blur. She would go ice skating and imagine he was there guiding her along the ice. Winter ended and the ice rink melted. Jack sent her lots of letters and she kept them next to her bed and read them whenever she felt lonely. He said that his sister was having the best Winter of her life. That made her happy, but a selfish part of herself wished he was spending it with her. He promised he’d come back soon though. And Elsa couldn’t wait for that.

 

Things were going fine, up until this one particular day. As Elsa is the Queen of Arendelle, she is expected to stay up date on current events and news. Every week, Elsa receives a newspaper with news from around the world. She usually just skims it and stops and reads if anything jumps out at her. Usually it’s just things that aren’t relevant to her or her Kingdom. She expected this newspaper to be the same, but it wasn’t. She read something that caused her whole world to fall apart.

 

There was nothing important happening in Germany, Australia or France. But she stopped when she got to the United States of America section.

 

 

**Local Boy Lost in Ice River**

 

 

Usually she just skimmed over these things because they don’t affect her, but something made her stop and read the article. The title left a bad taste in her mouth.

 

 

**_In Hawthorne Pennsylvania, a local boy, Jackson Overland, was ice skating on a frozen river with his sister, Mary, when the ice cracked and he fell into the freezing water. His sister started screaming and alerted people to what had happened. The police searched the river but could not find his body. He is presumed dead._ **

 

 

Elsa’s heart felt like it stopped. Her whole body froze. This didn’t feel real. Her body was in too much shock to process what she had just read.

 

“No,” she whispered. _This isn’t happening. This can’t be real. Jack is alive and he’ll be back here before I know it._

 

Elsa sat there, staring at the article for what felt like hours. Eventually, Anna came in and noticed her. Her body was rigid. Her face was emotionless.

 

Anna walked over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Elsa, what’s wrong?” she said worriedly.

 

Elsa felt tears start to form in her eyes. She couldn’t find the words. Her voice would not work. She pushed the article towards Anna and sat still while she read it.

 

“No,” Anna whispered, her voice full of shock. “No, it can’t be him.”

 

“How many people do you think named Jack Overland live in Hawthorne and have a sister named Mary?” she croaked out, her voice cracking.

 

Anna’s face had gone pale, a tear falling down her cheek. “No, no, no. This isn’t happening.”

 

Once Elsa’s body had processed the shock of it all, she started crying hysterically. She couldn’t stop. Her whole body felt not like her own. She couldn’t stand up. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t do anything. She felt like she was screaming from the inside out.

 

Elsa couldn’t eat or sleep for the next few days. She felt weak and sick. She didn’t want to be a Queen anymore. She didn’t want to have all those responsibilities. A doctor examined her and diagnosed her with depression. She was instructed to not be put under any stress and to be put on bed rest until she started to feel better.

 

_How am I supposed to get better when Jack is gone? When my soul mate is dead?_

 

Anna took over all of her Queen duties. She took charge of everything. And Elsa was so thankful for that even though she didn't feel strong enough to actually tell Anna. Her sister understood what she was going through.

 

Elsa spent weeks in bed. Her appetite started to come back, but she’d lost weight. She felt cold all the time and had no energy. She spent the days crying, sleeping and aimlessly staring at the ceiling. She would read the letters from Jack over and over again. Her whole life had fallen apart. Nothing would ever be the same.

 

She eventually got stronger and felt a lot better and decided to go to Jack’s funeral in Hawthorne. The trip there was a very scenic route but she didn’t care. She stayed in her cabin for the whole trip and cried. Anna stayed behind as regent Queen.

 

She couldn’t contain herself at the funeral. She cried throughout the whole thing. Jack’s sister, Mary, was the sweetest little kid. She blamed herself for his death. Jack pushed Mary out of the way of the fragile ice. He sacrificed himself to save her. Jack was always selfless. That’s the kind of person he was. But a selfish part of Elsa wished he hadn’t been that person. A part of her wished that he hadn’t pushed Mary out of the way because then he’d still be alive. _I’m a horrible person for thinking that._

 

Jack had told Mary all about Elsa so it was like they already knew each other when they met. She gave Elsa some of Jack’s things. His favourite books and some photographs of him so she would never forget him. Staying with his family helped her to come to terms that he was gone. They missed him just as much as she did.

 

Elsa had thoughts consuming her mind. _I saved him from drowning once, if I’d been there I could have saved him._ It wasn’t her fault. There was nothing she could have done to save him. Yet Elsa still partly blamed herself.

 

When she got home to Arendelle, she started to feel better. The time she spent with Jack was the best time of her life. It wasn’t long but it felt like a lifetime. He gave her what felt like a whole new life. She would always remember him. She would always treasure those memories. He would always be a part of her.

 

She started to get better and could resume being Queen. But Jack still stayed heavy on her mind and she sometimes found it hard to concentrate. He changed her whole world. He made her not feel alone. His smile could change her mood. His touch could heal everything. She would never get to brush her fingers through his hair again. Nothing would ever feel the same as those months she spent with Jack did.


	13. Chapter 13

“Elsa.”

 

Elsa’s eyes flew open. It was the middle of the night. But she thought she heard someone call her name. It was still dark outside and the curtains were opened slightly, which was odd. She remembered closing them before she went to bed. The bright light of the full moon was shining inside.

 

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. And then she almost screamed. Jack was standing at the end of her bed. Only he looked different. He had platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a blue hoodie, brown pants and no shoes. But it was unmistakably him.

 

Elsa blinked a few times, thinking she must be dreaming. “Jack,” she whispered, not believing her eyes. “Is it really you?”

 

He smiled and it was the same smile she remembered. “Yes, it's me,” he said, sitting on the edge of her bed. “I'm me… just a bit different.”

 

She pulled her blanket up over her as a burst of cold air hit her. “But…” she stuttered. “But… how? Am I dreaming?”

 

Jack smiled at her and ran his fingers through his hair. He moved closer to her and put out his hand.

 

_I’m dreaming, I have to be dreaming._ But she took his hand. It was cold and it made her shiver. “You’re so cold,” she whispered through frozen breaths. But somehow it didn’t bother her.

 

“I know,” he said, leading her out of her bed so they were both standing. “This is my body’s temperature now.”

 

It was the kind of cold she felt whenever she used her ice powers. Like an ice cold shower on a hot day. Refreshing.

 

“How are you here?” Elsa asked, her breath showing from the cold. “You… you died. You fell through the ice and no one could find you. I went to your funeral.”

 

Jack looked down at her. His piercing blue eyes made her weak. “It’s… hard to explain. It was like I was reborn. The moon told me my purpose and gave me a new name. Jack Frost.”

 

“Jack Frost,” Elsa whispered, savouring the name in her mouth. “You talked to the moon?”

 

“I know I must sound crazy,” he said, guiding her to the middle of her room. “But it all makes sense to me.”

 

Elsa shook her head at Jack as they started to dance, holding each other and slowly moving around in circles. “I don’t understand,” she said, barely a whisper.

 

“I was scared,” he said, moving them in a different direction. “It was dark, and I felt cold. But then I saw the moon.” He paused, stopping dancing. “And everything fell into place.”

 

Elsa reached up to his face. His cheek was as cold as ice. “This has to be a dream. But I don’t want it to be.”

 

He took her other hand and held it tight. “It’s not a dream, Queen Elsa,” he said, his eyes looking sad. “But I have to leave soon.”

 

Elsa frowned. “But I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay,” she said, tears starting to form in her eyes. “Stay with me.” She brushed her fingers through his hair. It was full of ice and snowflakes fell to the ground. But it was the same soft hair, just a different colour.

 

He leaned down and kissed her. His lips were ice cold but they mixed perfectly with her warm lips. Elsa didn’t want it to ever end. She forgot all about feeling cold and melted into Jack. In that moment everything was perfect.

 

When they pulled apart, he looked at her with sad tired eyes. “I have to leave now.” He cupped her cheek with his hand. “But whenever you see snow, or whenever you use your ice powers, I’ll be with you.”

 

Elsa closed her eyes and let her tears fall into Jack’s hand. “Can’t I come with you?”

 

“I’m sorry Elsa,” he said sadly, dropping his arm down. "I have to go alone. The moon told me so.”

 

Elsa grabbed his hand held it tight. She didn’t want to let go. “Where are you going?”

 

Jack struggled to get his hand free of hers. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you. But you’ll feel me there whenever there is snow. And when the full moon is out my spirit will protect you.” He leant down to Elsa and put his forehead against hers. “I love you Elsa.”

 

Elsa shivered and treasured this moment, letting go of the tight grip she had on his hand. “I love you Jack.”

 

Jack kissed her on the forehead and walked towards the window. Ice coated the window when he opened it. He slipped out and closed it behind him. _It’s like my ice powers,_ Elsa thought with wonder. _He can control ice just like me._

 

She walked over, the blue tinge of the moon pouring over her. She looked out but couldn’t see him. He was gone. The window was covered in ice on the inside. It made her shiver.

 

She decided to get back into bed under the covers to warm up. She lay there starting at the window hoping that Jack would come back. She eventually fell back asleep, dreaming of his cold lips and bright blue eyes.

 

 

*****

 

 

“Come back, Jack!”

 

Elsa woke up breathing heavily, screaming his name. The sun was out and was shining into her room. She rubbed her eyes and looked around the room, expecting Jack to appear at any minute. But he didn’t. He wasn’t coming back.

 

“It was just a dream,” she whispered, trying to convince herself it wasn’t real.

 

Elsa hopped out of bed and walked towards the window. The rug was wet. It was like snowflakes had melted on there. That made her heart start beating fast. She got over to the window and the edges were covered in ice. Beautiful patterns. She ran her hand over the window. It froze her fingers.

 

It was odd that the sun hadn’t melted the ice. When the sun comes out the ice usually melts. But today it hadn’t. Then suddenly, Elsa watched as more ice patterns formed and covered the whole window. Her voice caught in her throat. She was mesmerised. It was like something she could do, only she wasn’t doing this.

 

“Jack,” she whispered, her voice full of hope. _It has to be him. It has to be._

 

Some of the ice started to melt in the shape of what looked like a hand. Elsa opened her mouth in shock. _He said whenever there was snow he’d be here._

 

Elsa nervously moved closer to the window and placed her hand up against the glass. It wasn’t cold like she was expecting it to be. She could feel warmth coming through the glass. She could feel Jack. She could feel his presence. Through the ice she could see that the full moon was still out. Even though it was daylight, the moon was still visible. It was like Jack was looking over her.

 

Elsa pressed her forehead against the window. It felt like every time Jack touched her, and she swore she could feel his hair tickling her head. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

 

Jack was there. He may not have be physically there but Elsa could feel him.

 

She moved her head away but kept her hand pressed to the window. She didn’t want to take it away. She created some snow in her other hand.

 

The power was in her hands. Anytime she used her powers Jack would be there with her.

 

She threw up the snow she’d created and let it fall over her. The snow didn't make her shiver as there was too much warmth in her heart. She somehow knew everything was going to be okay.

 

_You’ll always be with me, Jack Frost._


End file.
